


re: connect

by ingenious_spark



Series: re: connect [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Confrontations, Developing Relationship, Emotional Trauma, Family Reunions, Inappropriate Humor, Introspection, Long Live Feedback Comment Project, Minor Original Character(s), Multi, Nightmares, POV Alternating, Realm of Darkness (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas is Ventus, Werewolves, appearances by various Final Fantasy characters, c-c-c-cup noodle!, inclusion of Kingdom Hearts Union x (Cross) elements, the stained glass cathedral of the heart, this is gonna be an epic buckle up kids, weird Kingdom Hearts logic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-31
Updated: 2018-07-18
Packaged: 2018-09-21 05:35:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 44,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9533978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ingenious_spark/pseuds/ingenious_spark
Summary: 355 days in the Organization, and Roxas has had enough. No one will tell him anything, even his supposed best friend, Axel. He's leaving when Axel finally concedes, shattering destiny's designs, and takes Roxas to the place where all of his chains connect.A sleeper awakens, fully restored.Ventus is back, and the worlds fell to chaos while he was asleep. He takes up the chains of destiny, determined to reconnect them with all his lost and waiting friends.And he's starting with Lea- oops, sorry, Axel. Well, guess that's step number one! Only what, three hundred more to go?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, yeah. This happened. I have a lot on my plate right now, and this is largely stress relief, because none of my other stories are talking to me. I'll update them, I promise, but for now, have something new. 
> 
> I have been replaying all of the KH games in internal chronological order, so I started with Birth by Sleep. I was talking with my husband, WaywardDesertKnight, about how weird it had to be for Axel looking at Roxas every day and seeing Ventus, while we were watching the hd cutscenes from 358/2 Days, and this was born. Have fun, folks. I refuse to apologize for any part of this self-indulgent mess.
> 
> ...also I started playing KH Unchained x, so be aware that's gonna get incorporated at some point.

Day 355

“Xion and I are both special Nobodies. What if they made me, too? Xemnas said… Sora was what connects her and me. But who's Sora? And who am I to him? Axel knows. I'll bet he's been sitting on all kinds of secrets this whole time. He doesn't even have the guts to tell me the truth about _me_ …” fervent mutterings heralded the small, brown-skinned, blond-haired, black-clad teenager’s exit from his bedroom. He strode purposefully down the corridors of the castle in World That Never Was, to the meeting area its inhabitants called the Grey Area. It was empty, but for a long, lanky figure leaning against the window, looking tired and frustrated.  
  
“Axel.” The redhead looked up and tried out a smile. It looked tired and strained.  
  
“Hey, Roxas.” He replied, and they stood in awkward silence for a few moments.  
  
“You find Xion?” Roxas asked, without much hope. Axel sighed, running a hand over his hair.  
  
"Like it's gonna be that easy.” He muttered. Roxas looked down, disappointed.  
  
"I know…” he mumbled. Axel kept his peace. Roxas worked up his courage. “Have you been keeping the truth about her from me this whole time?” He asked, looking up at his best friend. Axel looked away, guilty.  
  
"Not the whole time.” He said evasively. Roxas frowned.  
  
"When did you find out?” He pressed. Axel looked uncomfortable.  
  
"Oh, I dunno. Somewhere along the way.” He replied, even more evasive. Roxas was starting to get seriously angry now. Or, as angry as someone who had no heart could get.  
  
“Didn't get it memorized, huh? Axel… who am I, really?” He snapped. “I'm special, like Xion. I know that.” Still Axel remained unresponsive. “But the Organization wanted me out of the picture.” Roxas continued relentlessly. Axel sighed heavily.  
  
"Yeah… they did,” he admitted. Roxas thought for a moment.  
  
“Is it because Xion copied my Keyblade and they didn't need me anymore?” He ventured, and there was a minute tic of Axel’s facial expression that made him think he was on the right track. “And you feel the same way.” The anger compelled Roxas to say, wanting some reaction, _any_ reaction. Axel’s head whipped up, denial painted over his features.  
  
“No, you've got that part wrong. You'll always be my best friend.” But something in that statement was still false. Roxas felt a bitter sting of disappointment again.  
  
“Best friends are honest with each other! _Who am I_ , Axel?” He demanded, and Axel looked away, frustration etched over his body language. “Xemnas said me and Xion are connected to Sora. Who is that? _Tell me_ ! Am I a puppet like Xion?” Roxas balled his hands into fists, angry and frustrated and hurting.  
  
"No…” Axel said, exhausted and equally frustrated.  
  
“What, then?” Roxas snarled. Axel glared at him.  
  
“You really think the truth is going to make you feel better? It _won't_ .” Axel snapped, guilt in his face.  
  
“What makes you so sure? I have a right to know who I am! How did I get here? Why am I special? Where did I learn to use the Keyblade? I deserve those answers!” Roxas raged.  
  
“Roxas…” Axel sighed. Roxas sighed too, deflating slightly.  
  
“Are you gonna tell me or not? Axel… who am I?” He beseeched his best friend. Axel shook his head.  
  
“You've just gotta trust me, Roxas.” Axel turned, trying to end the conversation.  
  
"I don't.” Roxas said, bitter and lashing out. Axel whipped back around.  
  
“Hey, c'mon…” He beseeched.  
  
“If I can't get answers here, I'll get them somewhere else. Somebody knows where I came from. That'll be the person I trust.” Roxas said, bright blue eyes cold. Axel looked like he'd been struck. He managed to find words just as Roxas was leaving, darting forward to grab his wrist. Roxas tried to shake him off, but failed, looking up angrily into bright green eyes.

“I don't have your answers, Roxas. The things I know might be false. The things I think might be true. I don't know everything, Roxas, and I don't want you to leave me.” Axel managed to spit out around the bizarre lump in his throat.

“I'm done, Axel. You won't tell me a damned thing!” Roxas spat back. Axel opened a Corridor of Darkness, ignoring Roxas’s protests, and dragged him through. He was stronger than the small teenager, being a fully-grown man, and gods that was strange. This boy, this child, ought to be the same age as him. Axel-then-Lea had known this boy, or a boy just like him, and they had been the same age. Ten years had passed, and Axel was twenty-five, now, but Roxas-not-Ventus was still just fifteen. It threw Axel for a loop every single day.

How could Axel tell Roxas who he was when he wasn't even _sure_? Everyone said he was Sora’s Nobody, made in the scant minutes that Sora had been a Heartless. Axel, he wasn't so sure. But he also had no other explanation. They came out in Castle Oblivion’s entrance hall once again, but this time Axel had transported them right in front of the first set of doors in the castle, hoping to skip last time’s weird, horrible fainting episode.

“I don't know, Roxas. You were found outside this castle, by all reports about as responsive as a doll. They took you to Twilight Town to try to get you more responsive, but it didn't work. Maybe your answers are here, but after last time, I didn't want to risk it.” Axel tried to explain, releasing Roxas’s wrist, but keeping a hand on his shoulder, ready to catch him if he was going to faint again. Roxas looked up at him with wide eyes, fingers rubbing his temples. “Open the door. It leads everyone somewhere different the first time,” he urged. “I'm right behind you. I'm trying to help, Roxas, even if I do get eliminated for this.”

“E-eliminated?” Roxas faltered, and Axel squeezed his shoulder gently.

“Nothing comes free. But I was being kinda selfish back there. I get it. Go on, Roxas.” He urged gently, and Roxas gripped the handle of the door and pulled, sharply. Axel fervently hoped something would happen, that Roxas would get his answers, at the same time as he really wished he wouldn't. He was regretting this decision, rather desperately.

The door opened, and they both stepped inside. It was as empty and white as the room they'd come from, save for what looked to be the back of a large white chair, like a throne.

“This one's new,” Axel tried to joke nervously. Roxas moved away, circling the chair to look at the rest of the room. There were patterns like golden chains etched into the floor, Axel noticed. It was kinda pretty, in a terrifying, foreboding way. Roxas made a soft noise, and Axel looked up. The blond teenager was gone, nowhere to be seen.

“Roxas!” Axel called, panicky. He darted to the other side of the chair- maybe the kid was pulling a prank. Bad timing, if he was.

The occupant of the chair was blond and brown-skinned, but wasn't Roxas, and Axel’s stomach lurched. As he watched, the impossible person yawned sleepily, reaching up to rub at their eyes, before looking around.

“Lea?” Ventus asked, confused, and he'd been a pretty kid, but now he was _gorgeous_ , all sun-earth-sky. And he was Axel’s age, the way he should be. And Roxas was still missing, while Axel’s brain was busy flatlining. Ventus patted at his chest, looking puzzled.

“How do I know you're going by Axel now, Lea?” He asked, and Axel felt his nonexistent heart sink into his shoes.

“Ventus, do you- are you- _Roxas_?” He spluttered, thrown for a loop. If Ventus had somehow absorbed Roxas, what did that mean for Sora? Ventus looked thoughtful, still rubbing gently at his chest, before closing his eyes briefly.

“We were resting. Being made whole again,” Ventus murmured, and a small smile graced full lips. “Then- we were, _I was_ , forced out, thrown free as darkness filled us. I think he was trying to save me, even though he didn't even remember I was there. I remember- a young, black-haired girl, a red-haired man. Something sweet and salty. A high place. The sunset.” He opened his eyes again, and tears trickled from cloudless-sky blue. Axel brushed them away, feeling a lingering twinge in his chest. The memory of grief.

“Then you are Roxas. Or, was Roxas you?” Axel asked. Ventus looked puzzled.

“I don't know. I've been asleep, both my body and my heart. You- you brought my heart here, or I would never have woken up. Thank you, Lea.” Ventus smiled again. Axel winced, confused.

“My name is Axel right now.” He told the blond. Ventus nodded, and it was his turn to look confused.

“...right now? So you didn't just change your name? I mean, Axel sounds pretty cool, I thought you might've.” He shrugged, bewildered. Axel smiled, feeling the weird semblance of humanity that Roxas and Xion always gave him.

“No, Lea- Lea doesn't exist right now. He fell into darkness doing something really stupid to try to help a friend. I'm what's left. The shell without a heart, like discarded clothes.” He bit his lip. Had it been a good idea to tell him that? Ventus was a keyblade master, he could kill Axel without a second thought.

“...Isa. You were trying to help Isa, weren't you?” Ventus looked sad, and tired. Axel winced.

“He's Saïx now,” he offered, and Ventus nodded, standing up before wincing. Belatedly, Axel realized that, while Ventus was physically older now, and taller, a little broader, but not by much, he was also still wearing the same outfit he had been the day Lea had met him. And while he had grown, his clothes had not. Axel winced in sympathy.

“Owowowow, shit, gimme your coat,” Ventus demanded, bright blue eyes tearing slightly. Axel stripped off his coat and turned around, trying not to think about the rustling sounds of clothing. “Oh my gods your arms are too skinny, I can't move my shoulders. This isn't gonna work. Uh. Wait, I know!” Axel smiled faintly, listening to Ventus complain. He almost wanted to laugh.

“My arms aren't that skinny,” he jibed back reflexively.

“They totally are.” Ventus retorted. “ _How_ is another story altogether, what with your fondness for slinging frisbees around.” Axel whirled around indignantly, and shielded his eyes against a brief flare of light. When it receded, Ventus was clad in form fitting armor, a bodysuit that clung to every curve and contour, padded over with metal plates, the same greenish color as the weird, dorky shoulder and belt pieces he habitually wore. Additionally, his face was covered in a helmet with strange, swept-back frills on each side, like a dog's ears. He reached up and took the helmet off, smiling over at Axel. “What, no witty retort?” He asked sweetly. Axel huffed.

“They're not _frisbees_ , they're _chakrams_. Get it memorized already.” Axel rolled his eyes and took the coat Ventus offered him, shrugging it on. It was weirdly cold here, all the time, and he hadn't been wearing a shirt under the coat.

“Whatever you say, Lea- ah, Axel. My bad.” Ventus smiled, and it was like sunshine, like a blessing, seeing white teeth flash in delicate brown framework of skin and bone. Axel couldn't help but smile back. “Where is Is- Saïx? I thought you guys were more or less joined at the hip!” The smile slipped from Axel’s lips.

“Hah. Yeah, we used to be, I guess.” He said, the memory of grief stirring again in his chest. Ventus stepped forward, touching Axel’s arm, concerned. “He's… back at the Castle.” Axel supplied, shrugging off that light, comforting pressure.

“Castle?” Ventus frowned, folding up his too-small clothes and putting them on the seat of the chair, before picking up the small rucksack he'd had on, lengthening the straps and slinging it back on. It looked incongruous with the armor, and Axel bit back a smirk.

“I think I remember- it was all monochrome and really boring, wasn't it?” Axel really did smirk this time.

“Got it in one, Sunshine.” He threw in some finger guns for good measure, and Ventus honest-to-the-gods pouted. It was adorable, like a wet kitten.

“ _Sunshine_? That's terrible, I want a new nickname.” He protested, hands on hips.

“It's Sunshine, Kitten, or Babyface, take your pick.” Axel shot right back, and Ventus made a disgruntled face.

“Sunshine it is, then.” He grumped. Axel smiled faintly. Ventus shook his head. “Whatever. So, let's go see Saïx!” He bounced a little on the balls of his feet, and Axel wanted to smile, but winced.

“Uh, not a good idea.” He told Ventus, and the blond pouted again.

“But why not? You guys have to reconcile!” He protested vehemently. Axel sighed.

“Why?” He asked, resigned. Ventus glared at him, the expression very akin to Roxas’s, not long ago. “He's changed so much. People grow apart, you know. We grew too far, without the connection our hearts could provide.”

“Because you have the _opportunity_ to. Because neither one of you is so utterly gone you can no longer find them. Because if I can't see Aqua and Terra, I can at least get you two to stop being _stupid_ .” His eyes glittered with tears, making their ways down his cheeks, and Axel felt the squeezing memory of guilt. “I know they're alive, in my heart. But where they are, what's happened to them, that's a mystery, and I don't appreciate you throwing Isa away just because you've ‘grown apart’.” He slashed a hand through the air. “That's a bullshit excuse anyway! Have you even _tried_ , or did you just give up?”

“All right, all right, all right. Just- stop _crying_ , Ventus. I get it, I'm an idiot.” Axel stepped forward and gently wiped the tears from Ventus’s cheeks, and Ventus let out a muffled sob and hugged him tightly, face buried in Axel’s chest. Axel didn't have much choice but to hug back, gently rocking them side to side in what he vaguely recalled to be a comforting gesture.

Ventus cried for a long while, and Axel just stood there with him, getting damp and slightly snotty. Eventually Ventus calmed, fishing in his rucksack for a packet of tissues and they both got cleaned up.

“Let's go, Axel.” His expression was firm, and he shoved his helmet back on his head, hitting some sort of trigger that caused his faceplate to become transparent. Axel sighed, raising his hood and bidding a Corridor open. Ventus startled almost comically, like a spooked cat, keyblade appearing in hand. He fumbled it, nearly dropping the weapon, before turning it around so he was no longer holding it backhand.

“That's weird- I used to fight almost exclusively backhand, but now it feels uncomfortable.” He muttered. Axel shrugged.

“Roxas- and Sora too, come to think of it- they both fought forehand. Maybe they rubbed off on you?” He offered, and Ventus shrugged.

“Maybe. Ugh, do we have to travel through that? It reeks of Darkness.” He shivered, and Axel rested a hand on his hip.

“Duh, it's a Corridor of Darkness. Your armor should protect you, right? My coat does. Besides, I don't see you offering another alternative.” Axel sighed. Ventus raised his keyblade and Axel took a moment to admire the weapon- white wings and a whole, unbroken crimson heart.

Nothing happened. Ventus shook the blade, frustrated. Axel smothered a chuckle, and Ventus shot him an irritated look.

“The Lanes Between- they're locked again,” he slumped. He glanced despairingly at the Corridor. “I guess we go your way.” Axel stared forward, but startled when Ventus darted forward and clutched his hand. Axel looked down at him with a raised eyebrow, and Ventus looked up at him stubbornly.

“You're such a kid, Ven,” he sighed. Ventus rolled his eyes.

“I went through puberty twice, technically. And I spent most of my adulthood asleep. How long has it been? I was fifteen, I think, when I went to sleep.” Ventus hung stubbornly onto Axel’s hand, so he propelled them forward through the Corridor.

“Well, I think you win for shitty life experiences. Twice? Man, who did you piss off? And, well, assuming you were fifteen like me and Is- Saïx when we met,” he paused for Ventus’s confirming nod. “Then it's been ten, nearly eleven years. You're between twenty-five and twenty-six.” Ventus fell silent, looking a little troubled.

“...That long, huh.” Axel flashed the smaller man a commiserating smile and reflexively squeezed his hand.

“Yeah. Life sucks, don't it?”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for Xehanort, and a graphically violent fantasy of what someone wants to do to him.

Saïx paced restlessly. He didn't know what to do about Axel, Roxas, and the puppet. If Axel failed at this then all of their progress towards reclaiming their hearts would be for naught. And on a more personal level, it would mean Axel had chosen a puppet, something that did not even have the memories of friendship or affection to cling to. His eyes flicked out the window to the light of Kingdom Hearts. If his human heart still remained then he would say he was jealous of Axel.

But as it was all he could somewhat “feel” was possessive and angry, uncontrollably so, with only the beast heart remaining. He tipped his head back to the light, eyes half-lidded. If he still had the ability, he would shift into a more comfortable form. What had remained after his human heart was lost strained inside him, urging him to give in and run. However it was squelched in a sharp stab of pain, centered on the binding spell Xemnas had carved into his flesh betwixt his eyes, the ugly x-shaped scarring. He twisted away from the window with a growl.

“Axel…” he clenched his hand against window frame, cracking it as he did so. It wasn't the first time. But only Xemnas could unbind him now, and he sighed, leaning his head to the cool glass, eyes shut against the light. “Axel, is a friendship with a puppet worth more to you than a real one?” As strange as it felt to consider, Saïx was growing nigh on desperate for the other half of his heart to return. Desperate enough that he had grown tempted by Xemnas’s plan, in conjunction with Axel abandoning their own efforts.

Perhaps, if he had his whole heart again, Axel would remain by his side, and Saïx would no longer be stuck staring at the redhead’s receding back. The cynical part of his mind doubted, and Saïx wished he could still feel hope.

A tapping sound resounded against the cool glass, the vibrations coming from the other side. Saïx reared back, eyes shooting open. Axel looked up at him from where he was gripping the outer windowsill, and Saïx slid the window open despite himself. How was Axel doing this? They were at least ten stories above the ground. Yes, Axel was agile, and liked climbing things, but this was out of the ordinary, even for him.

“Before you ask, this was not my idea.” Axel preempted him, shoving at his chest so he could clamber up onto the sill and swing inside. Dumbstruck, Saïx allowed him to climb into his room, and watched, bemused, as he then leaned back out, as if to help someone else in.

‘Someone else’ was clad in formfitting green, gold, and black armor, not the familiar cloak of the Organization. Their face through the clear glass visor of the helmet was both irritatingly familiar and aggravatingly foreign. It was Roxas, but plus maybe ten years, baby fat smoothed into a face that was still a little childishly round, but sweetly matured. He was taller, too, though still not as tall as either he or Axel, built like Axel with a gymnast’s lean strength, though his shoulders were slightly broader than the redhead’s. Saïx recovered from the shock, baring sharp canine teeth in a snarl and rounding on Axel.

“ _Explain_ ,” he demanded, eyes glinting a shade closer to gold. Axel sighed, rubbing his forehead, glancing back at not-Roxas.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” he muttered to the imposter, and Saïx felt himself bristle at that. Not-Roxas punched him in the arm, and from the way Axel flinched, he hadn't pulled it.

“Don't be an _ass_ .” Not-Roxas ordered, and turned to Saïx with a slightly apologetic smile. “Hey, I've got no idea if you remember me, but I'm Ventus. We met once, in Radiant Garden.” Saïx was stymied. This man- and Roxas for that matter- looked vaguely familiar, but other than that, he had no idea. He shook his head wordlessly, and Axel made a soft, familiar, despairing noise that meant he was once again disgusted with people who were only in possession of regular memories, as opposed to freakishly accurate ones. ‘Ventus’ only shook his head, expression twisting to rueful. “I'm not surprised. We only knew each other for a few hours. Actually,” his forehead knitted together in a confused frown, and he turned to look at Axel. “Come to think of it, how on earth did _you_ remember me from a few hours one afternoon like ten years ago?” He sounded genuinely curious.

“I got you memorized, Ven.”

“He has an eidetic memory.”

They spoke at the same time, and Ventus looked curiously at Saïx. Saïx obliged him for some unfathomable reason.

“An eidetic, a photographic memory. He can't forget things. Well. He can, but he can invariably remember them again. He's always been the best at remembering people, their names and faces and suchlike. He always got very frustrated when we were children, that most people couldn't remember the same way. That's why he started saying-”

“Get it _memorized_ , already!” Axel finished for him, getting the faint disparaging whine down perfectly. “Which then turned into a kind of, hm, catchphrase?” Axel shrugged, and looked at Saïx, a faint frown on his face. “I hadn't realized you still remembered that,” he muttered. Saïx suppressed the urge to yell at him, and simply gave him a calm, level look.

“I may not have your skills at remembering random people we apparently met once ten years ago, but I have _always_ memorized you.” His mouth twisted in a bitter smile, and he watched with hollow satisfaction as Axel turned away in a simulacrum of guilt. Ventus was, strangely enough, smiling. Saïx felt the bitter rage that simmered in his beast heart surge, and breathed evenly in an attempt to suppress it.

“Okay. So, the reason why we're here is because Axel gave me some shitty excuse that you guys ‘grew apart’, and I thought that was stupid, so he's going to apologize for giving up on you, and you're going to apologize for, I don't know, whatever you feel the need to apologize for, and you're going to meet each other halfway and be friends again!” Ventus gave them a blindingly bright smile, and Saïx blinked at the blond man stupidly.

“Like it's really that simple,” Axel muttered bitterly, and Ventus’s smile dimmed slightly.

“I know it isn't. But it's a place to start, at the very least.” Ventus said softly, tired grief clouding his features. Axel winced. Saïx smirked slightly at the redhead.

“That kind of apology is meaningless, we have no hearts for sincerity.” He observed coolly. Axel shot him a glare.

“You're such a gods-damned _pessimist_ , Saïx. You can't find the good in anything, can you?” Axel sniped, and Saïx growled low in his chest.

“I'm not the one who gave up.” Saïx retorted, and the incisors in his mouth were looking more like canines, while his eyes were rapidly paling to a purer gold. “I believe, _old friend_ , that makes _you_ the pessimist.” Axel stepped forward, getting in Saïx’s personal space.

“A secretive pessimist, that's you. I wouldn't have given up if you just told me what I wanted to know instead of hiding your knowledge. You're being quite the obedient puppy for the Superior.” Axel sneered, and Saïx roared, grabbing for the lanky redhead’s coat. He surprisingly actually caught Axel, and pinned him against the wall. His scar tissue was burning in his berserk state, the pain the brand caused him fueling his anger.

“Stop it, both of you!” Ventus was on them, trying to pry Saïx off of Axel. Saïx released Axel, turning on Ventus and throwing him easily into the wall. Ventus made a soft noise of pain, but sprang gamely back to his feet, and Saïx dimly realized that Axel had grabbed his shoulders and planted himself, trying to keep Saïx away from the small blond. That fanned the flames of rage even further, and speech and reasoning became just so much white noise.

He came to flat on his back, scars throbbing with pain, and Axel sprawled bodily atop him, Ventus slumped against the wall nearby, both breathing hard. He sighed, raising an arm to rub at his scars, trying to soothe the ache. Axel looked up, something like relief in bright green eyes.

“Back with us again? Done throwing us around like ragdolls?” Saïx hummed in agreement to the fire-wielder’s questions. The redhead’s slight weight atop him calmed the beast within’s jealous, greedy possessiveness. He brought up his free hand to gently grip Axel’s elbow. They breathed quietly together for a few long moments, three breaths mingling in the stagnant air.

Ventus hummed. Saïx startled slightly and Axel lifted his head curiously.

“You're halves of a whole, right?” Ventus asked, slow and curious.

“Yes, that's right,” Saïx rasped, voice hoarse from rage. “Though, I have long suspected that my species caused the split to be different than Axel and the others’. I seem to still experience a modicum of emotion.” He didn't know why he was admitting this, finally. He'd never admitted it to anyone but himself. Axel sat up astride Saïx, looking faintly surprised.

“What do you mean? You never told me that.” He said, tone slightly accusing. Saïx favored him with a dry look.

“It's fairly obvious that I can feel at least one emotion, Axel.” He replied with dry humor.

“Rage,” Ventus murmured softly. “Couldn't go into a berserk state like that without it,” he replied to Axel’s questioning look.

“Additionally, jealousy, possessiveness, and greed. I am made of negative emotion, it seems.” He sighed, the hand Axel had shaken off by sitting up coming to rest on Axel’s thigh. He ignored how the redhead stiffened- after all, he was still straddling Saïx’s hips. “It makes sense, given what little I know of the origin of my species.” He mused.

“What is your species? You look pretty human to me.” Ventus offered.

Saïx shot him what would once have passed for an amused look, “if you know your folktales, then I am what you might consider calling a werewolf. In practice it is a more complicated system of shapeshifting centered on the fact we have two hearts. Though from what little my great-grandmother told me of our lineage, I have often guessed that we did not come by this through any natural fashion.”

“When the Superior’s original person was conducting experiments on the heart, we snuck in,” Axel provided, shoulders slumped, “it was my idea. I wanted to see if there was anything in the castle that could tell us more about it, cause then if more people understood Saïx wouldn’t have to hide it.” He scratched his head, looking down at the other Nobody guiltily. Saïx knew logically that it was only the memory of guilt Axel knew he should be feeling, but the beast heart inside of him took pleasure in seeing his suffering. “Then when everything went to shit…”

“In the aftermath, when the Superior discovered Axel and myself, I had gone into what you might consider a pure berserk state, a danger to everyone without thought or remorse,” Saïx rubbed again at the bridge of his nose, “the Superior bound me to this form before offering us a chance and place to reclaim our hearts.”

“What Saïx is trying to say is that he’s not technically a Nobody but he also kinda is. I mean I know the explanation by heart but making sense of it is another thing altogether.”

“In which case you know nothing Axel,” Saïx recused in what would have been a joke in another circumstance. He shut his eyes, “to explain simply I am a beast’s heart in a man’s guise, and my missing half is in all likelihood the inverse. And based on my limited emotional range in this state I can only guess that the heart of a beast is one made from darkness, if not ruled by it.” Ventus hummed softly, lacing and unlacing his fingers in absent nervousness.

“Hey, so I need to tell you guys something. It's not going to be… easy for me, so just bear with me until the end?” He asked, soft and hesitant, and his vulnerability in that moment made Saïx nod alongside Axel. “It starts… when I was eleven, and I ran away from my home, from the Islands. I met a man, and he was kind to me, he told me I had great potential, and if I wanted to learn, he would teach me.” Saïx felt Axel go stiff above him, open his mouth as if to speak, and squeezed his thigh warningly. Ventus had requested that they not interrupt.

“I agreed, and he taught me. For a while, it was great, absolutely the best thing to ever happen to me. Two years later, though, he told me he would grant me my Mark of Mastery if I could overcome one trial, and form a legend. The χ-blade.” Ventus breathed shakily. “I- I couldn't do it. And I nearly died trying. My master- he stood over me as I lay in the dirt, and he looked- _bored_ . He looked bored. He wasn't even really disappointed, it was like he knew he'd given me an impossible task. Then he took his keyblade and-” his breathing hitched. He was shaking like a leaf. “He tore my heart into two pieces. Ventus received all of the light, _pure_ light, and retained our original body, and the pain made me catatonic. Vanitas received all of the darkness, absolute darkness, and from the darkness I crafted a new shell.” Ventus’s hand was flexing over his heart, and he seemed incredibly young and vulnerable suddenly. Saïx repressed the violent urge to hunt down this ‘master’ of his, open his bowels and then _salt_ them. While the man was still alive and screaming.

“A lot of stuff happened after that, some of it good, some bad. I met you two- Ventus did. I don't think Vanitas ever did. I met Aqua and Terra, and Master Eraqus. I met so many people as Ventus, but at the same time I was still suffering under my master as Vanitas. It's a little hard to hold on to what happened to which half of me. In the end, I went to sleep. Both halves of my heart were sheltered in another's heart, and I became slowly whole again. And then Axel brought my still-sleeping heart- Roxas-” Saïx stiffened, and shot a questioning glare up to Axel, who shrugged helplessly. “To where my empty body waited. Castle Oblivion, in the Chamber of Waking.” Axel’s eyes went wide.

“Wait up- _that_ was the Chamber of Waking?!” He blurted out, before clapping his hand over his mouth. “Sorry, sorry. Continue!” He flapped his hand. Ventus shot him a soft, shaky smile.

“The point of telling you all this was that, if you guys are really halves of a whole, maybe I can help you find your other halves. Heartless, right?” Saïx and Axel shot each other bewildered glances. Nobody had ever thought of, or mentioned actually going and trying to find and repossess their heartless. They had no idea how that would even work.

“...how do you propose going about this? How would we find, let alone distinguish, the one heartless that belonged to us?” Saïx asked in a reasonable tone. He wanted this theory to work out, by all the _gods_ he wanted. Therefore he also had to be the voice of skepticism. Ventus actually took that into consideration, thinking deeply. He summoned his keyblade and laid it across his lap- Saïx was intrigued, because that was not Oblivion, Roxas’s keyblade, clearly. It wasn't even the doll’s Kingdom Key. It was wholly white, with a motif of wings, and a blood-crimson heart, whole and unmarred, for the teeth of the key. Ventus noticed him looking and raised the keyblade in a nonthreatening manner.

“This is Lost Memory.” He told them, and Saïx was surprised. Lost Memory, Oblivion, two sides of the same coin, weren't they? “I know what it's like to be half of a whole. Maybe- if you _wanted_ it badly enough. Wanting isn't an emotion, right? Or is it?” He scrunched his face up, puzzled. Saïx honestly didn't know either. Ventus extended the keyblade to them hilt-first. “I have to hang onto it, or it'll disappear, but if you touch it, and want, with every fiber of your being… maybe it will show us the way.” Ventus shrugged helplessly. “It's kind of a long shot, I know.” Saïx and Axel glanced at each other before Axel reached out. Saïx knocked his hand away, because he’d be damned if he let Axel do something that reckless first again

and grasped

the hilt

right behind Ventus’s hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Boom. 
> 
> ...I've been debating whether or not to tag this with Roxas, what do y'all think?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, my life got crazy. Oh well. Here's the new chapter, sorry it's kind of short.
> 
> General warning for, um. Xehanort in general, but his abusive treatment of Ventus/Vanitas specifically.

Ventus’s breath caught in his throat, and he squeezed his eyes shut, willing his crazy idea to work. It was one hell of a long shot, and there was no room for error, since it was Saïx, not Axel. A moment, and then another, and Ventus’s heart was pounding in his ears, fast and loud. 

A sharp gasp from Axel, and he wrenched his eyes open. His keyblade was glowing. He silently asked it for a direction, and a pale beam of light shot straight out, like an arrow, pointing. Straight up, into the air. But not quite straight, tilted leftwards. Away from the ominously looming Kingdom Hearts, thankfully, and wasn't that a sight that made Ventus’s heart beat double-time.

“A different world. Has to be.” Ventus breathed in relief. Saïx’s eyebrow was raised, and he seemed to be quietly reconsidering Ventus. Axel leaned forward, knocking Saïx’s hand away, and grabbing the hilt. The same light appeared, pointing in roughly the same direction. Ventus frowned consideringly.

“I'm still not a hundred percent sure this will work, but we might as well give it a try, right? I think I can fly three on my keyblade, which would be easier than you two just constantly holding onto it.” Ventus said. Saïx’s face crumpled into a puzzled frown.

“Fly us on your keyblade…?” He questioned doubtfully. Axel grinned gleefully.

“He can transform his keyblade onto a weird flying bike thing,” the redhead supplied. Saïx nodded, looking skeptical, and Ventus evaluated them critically. 

“We're going to have to figure out how to balance everyone.” He mentioned. Saïx nodded again, thoughtfully, and moved to a door, opening it to reveal clothes. A closet. It was nice to know that even in these sterile bedrooms there were places to store clothes. Axel watched him in confusion.

“Uh, Saïx, what are you doing?” He asked. Saïx pulled down a bag, and shot Axel a slightly disparaging look.

“If we are about to go haring off after our hearts, that means we will be defecting from the Organization, does it not? It would behoove us to be  _ prepared _ .” Saïx said with a wealth of dry sarcasm. Axel flushed, scowling. 

“Yeah, all right, fine, I  _ guess _ that makes sense.” He growled grumpily. Saïx paused as he was looking through the partially-packed bag, and wow he had the skeptical eyebrow raise down to a fine art. 

“I take it you don't want this any more, then?” Saïx asked in a silky-deadly tone, and there was a flash of goldenrod-yellow plaid through his gloved fingers. Axel’s eyes went wide.

“You- I- is that…?” He stammered, before stepping close to fold his fingers over Saïx’s hand. “All right, I get it. Maybe I did give up. It wasn't fair, it was stupid.” His voice was faint, Ventus had to strain to hear him. Progress! Axel stepped away, moving for the door and slipping out without another word. Leaving Ventus. Alone, with Saïx, who had tried to kill him. Ventus shifted nervously.

“Uh, did I miss something?” He asked, because in his experience people didn't do that. Saïx looked at him, mild as milk.

“He went to go put together a bag.” The Nobody told him. Ventus nodded, bouncing on his heels.

“Okay. Thanks for giving this a chance. And also being prepared, I have a box of protein bars that have probably gone bad, a canteen and some water purification tablets, two sets of clothes that don't fit, like, maybe three thousand munny, my armor and my keyblade to my name, so that really helps.” Saïx gave him an unimpressed look. Ventus rolled his eyes. “I was  _ fifteen _ when I packed this bag, cut me some slack.” Saïx did at least stop looking, in favor of putting clothes in the bag. Ventus counted that as a win. He sized Saïx up, thinking. 

“Uh, hey, Saïx?” The Nobody turned to him, eyebrow raised. “None of my clothes fit, and Axel’s probably wouldn't either, he's a beanpole. Could I maybe, uh, borrow some clothes?” He was expecting a cold-worded rejection, not for the blue-haired man to turn, and give him a neat pile of clothes. He blinked, surprised. “Oh! Um, thank you.” He blurted awkwardly. Saïx inclined his head, still silent. Wow, awkward. Ventus went to the other side of the room to change, looking through the clothes. A wide-necked tank top, soft, stretchy black skinny jeans, black socks and- oh gods. Saïx had given him a pair of  _ underwear _ , neat black boxer briefs. Ventus bit his lip. Should he point this out? Should he not bother? Should he wear them?  _ Gods _ this was awkward.

He unslung his bag and stuffed the offending article of clothing inside. It wasn't worth it. He dissipated his armor, removing the shoulder and belt pieces it collapsed into, and hurriedly pulled on the clothes. They were soft, which was nice. The armor was useful, not comfortable. The tank top was sliding off his shoulders as he buckled his pauldron back on, and he resigned himself to looking like he was wearing Terra’s clothes. At least the pants were staying up. Barely. He threaded his belt quickly, cinching then tighter around surprisingly narrow hips. 

When would his own body stop being so foreign to him? He stared briefly at his hands, small and slim now, finally in proportion to the rest of him. He was damned lucky he wasn't tripping all over his limbs, longer and leaner now.

When was the last time he'd eaten? He splayed a curious hand over his ribs, not quite starving-defined, but definitely more prominent than they had been and should be. In growing, had his body cannibalized itself, since he hadn't been able to provide it nutrients? Or had it fed off the magic sustaining him? Both, perhaps? He rolled up the cuffs of his pants, because Saïx was still more than a foot taller than him. He was definitely more skinny than he should be, but he didn't feel particularly hungry. His skin was still tingling with adrenaline, not quite comfortable with Saïx in the room without the buffer provided by Axel, though, so maybe that was why. Axel slammed into the room, duffel bag over his shoulder, looking a little wild around the edges. Saïx and Ventus both startled, even as he closed the door with more care than he should. 

“Closet, Ventus- wait, are you wearing Saïx’s clothes?” The redhead looked mildly befuddled. Saïx frowned severely. 

“Why do you think it’s necessary to hide in my closet, Axel?” The other Nobody prompted impatiently. Axel nodded, grabbing Ventus’s arm and propelling him into the small space, before grabbing Saïx’s bag, and practically tossing it on top of the small blond. 

“Superior’s headed this way. I don't fancy dying.” Axel explained, shoving himself into the small space. Ventus squeaked, suddenly much closer to the redhead than he'd been before, crushed between two duffel bags, his own slingsack, the hanging coats, and lanky warmth. How was Axel this  _ hot _ ? Saïx helpfully closed the door on them, just as a knock sounded. 

The door opened without so much as a by-your-leave from Saïx, which, rude much? But then Ventus froze, not even sure he was still breathing, a cold sweat breaking out, adrenaline itching under his skin, heart pounding into overdrive.

Because he knew that aura, no matter how slightly-sideways-different. 

That was Xehanort.

He clung to Axel, vision spotty, the only thing he could hear the buzzing of his heartbeat in his ears.

_ ventus/vanitas remembers the split, the keyblade sliding into their skin, freezing-cold and not physically there, but tearing-ripping-rending them in two _

_ ventus is lucky, deemed useless and left to rot with that fool eraqus, drowning in light _

_ vanitas is not so lucky, under master’s tender, loving care, burning in the dark _

_ vanitas/ventus can still feel the pain of the flat of his keyblade, beating them because they cannot do what master wants _

_ despair making big, new monsters to go with fear and anger and hurt _

_ hurt is the most numerous, skittering pains wanting back into vanitas’s flesh, back into their bones _

_ the praise hurts most, which is odd _

_ when master is happy they don't hurt, but master’s happiness comes from their pain _

_ ventus knows something is wrong and is frightened of the paradise presented to them _

_ they mustn’t make any errors or something bad happens _

_ but nothing ever does and they just feel more and more frightened, because the longer it lingers the more it hurts _

_ always _

_ and then it happens, and eraqus is angry, raising his blade to ventus and telling them they shouldn't exist _

_ as though ventus/vanitas doesn't already know that _

_ master made that very clear _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yes, if you thought Saïx had Lea's uglyass yellow kerchief/scarf, you would be right.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, this one's a whopper! Couldn't find a good place to cut it sooner.

Ventus didn't know when he blacked out, but he came to flat on his back, Axel looking down at him worriedly. He was lying on something comfortable- a bed. Someone else was monitoring his pulse, from the feel of sharp-nailed fingers at his wrist. Saïx, probably.

“Thank the gods, you're awake. You scared us, Ventus. What the hell happened?” Axel’s face did look relieved, but in that dissonantly flat way that Ventus was still getting used to. The _memory_ of emotion, not the real thing.

“I-” Ventus’s voice scraped like sandpaper in his throat, and he coughed, pulling himself upright.

“Take it easy, Sunshine,” Axel muttered soothingly, helping him sit up. Even Saïx looked distantly concerned, handing Ventus a canteen. He took a couple of measured sips.

“What happened?” Saïx prompted, eyes sharp. Ventus nibbled his lip.

“That guy. The one who came in just now. Who was he?” Ventus asked instead.

“The Superior of the In-Between, the leader of the Organization. Number One, Xemnas.” Saïx supplied, looking grim. “For reference, I am Number Seven, the Luna Diviner, and Axel Number Eight, the Flurry of Dancing Flames. You were Number Thirteen, the Key of Destiny.” Ventus winced. Destiny, hah.

“That was. He was… Xehanort. He was different, but only subtly. They're the same person. I think I had a panic attack.” He looked at his hands, noting a fine tremor, trying to banish the sick fear trying to strangle him. “He was my m-master.” Axel began swearing virulently, but Saïx just went still, violently so. Ventus couldn't help flinching, and looked away, upset and embarrassed.

“We should go,” Saïx said, voice softer, somehow. Less judgemental. Ventus nodded, touching his pauldron and exerting his will, until he was again wrapped in the familiar comfort of his armor. He stood, summoning his keyblade, and sat on the windowsill, before tossing the blade, a twist of will shaping it into his glider. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about its shape, much closer now to Terra’s glider. It was definitely more convenient for carrying multiple people. He slid into the saddle, a hand on the windowsill to keep him there.

“So, um, Saïx, I think I need you up front, to balance the weight. Axel, you're in back with both duffel bags, sorry.” He made an apologetic face at the redhead, and then concentrated on keeping the glider as still as he could while Saïx climbed through the window and squeezed in between Ventus and the controls. Ventus realized the inherent problem with this the same moment as Axel.

“Uh, Sunshine, don't you need to see to steer?” Axel asked doubtfully. Ventus thought quickly.

“Hey, ah, Saïx, can you bow forward over the center unit?” Saïx did as requested, and Axel stifled a laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Ventus blinked.

“Nothing, just enjoying the view.” Axel sniggered. Ventus frowned, not quite comprehending what had triggered Axel’s memory of humor. Saïx figured to out first.

“I believe that was a sexual reference.” The blue-haired man said dryly. Ventus reevaluated their position in that light, and felt a little flustered.

“Oh. Oh!” Ventus frowned. “Seriously, Axel?” He rolled his eyes. “Get on or we're leaving without you.” Axel gasped comically, grasping his chest.

“So cold, Ven! I don't think my heart can take it. Oh wait.” He waggled his eyebrows with a crooked smirk, and Ventus giggled. Okay, that had actually been funny. The redhead maneuvered a little less gracefully than Saïx, what with his burden, but soon they were all safely aboard.

“Grab around my waist, Axel. Grab your wrists, yeah, like that. I'm gonna be going faster than I was coming here.” He warned, and made sure Saïx was hanging on too. “All right. Saïx, open me a Corridor of Darkness, please?” He managed to stifle a nervous shudder as Saïx did as he asked. Ventus concentrated, trying to recapture the feeling of need, to restart the directing light. “Guys, you need to want again,” he mentioned, and the beam started up again, one solid direction. “Gods, I hope this means your heartless are in the same place,” he muttered, before gunning it through the Corridor, eyes fixed on the light.

He was probably going faster than was really strictly safe, but adrenaline and discomfort spurred him on.

They burst out of another portal, one Saïx formed without needing to be asked, and he throttled down so they were lazily soaring beside an enormous castle, in deep disrepair and crawling with heartless. The light was pointing at a downward angle, so Ventus dipped, scanning around for- well, something. He wasn't sure yet. A flash of light in a place that shouldn't have any caught his eye, and he dipped to investigate.

“...Well, I guess two glowing neoshadows, that’s probably what we're looking for. Okay, we need to eliminate the rest before we can get to work. Uh. Saïx? Where are you going?” The blue-haired nobody had slung his legs off to the side, preparing to drop. He gave Ven a vaguely disparaging look.

“To deal with the problem.” He replied, dry as the Keyblade Graveyard. Ventus grabbed his wrist.

“Wait a minute, I think I need those two in one piece, okay? Axel, can you mark those two with fire or something?” He asked hurriedly. The flame wielder snapped his fingers and the ends of the glowing neoshadows’ antennae burst into flame. They both shrieked and chittered, grating and awful. Saïx twisted his wrist out of Ventus’s grasp, dropping into the seething swarm of heartless below, a roar of challenge tearing from his throat as his claymore took out an entire swath of the creatures in one blow. Ventus peered down, vaguely stunned. “He does realize I need them at least mostly intact, right?” He asked faintly. He then smacked Axel’s wrist.

“Ow,” he complained, shooting Ven a faux-wounded look. “What was that for?”

“I said _mark_ them, not set them on fire!” Ven snapped back, before giving in to his spiteful impulse and dissipating his glider, leaving Axel to the whims of gravity as he let magic and need and adrenaline spur him straight into Wingblade, soaring on light and magic into battle. Axel swore a blue streak, but caught himself, dropping the duffel bags and diving into the fray.

Much sooner than Ventus had anticipated, it was just the three of them and the two flaming neoshadows on the battlefield. Ventus yelped as the two turned to flee.

“Grab them!” He shouted, and Axel tackled one, while Saïx caught the other by the throat, holding it at arm's length off the ground. Ventus thought for a moment, but he really couldn't come up with anything better than what he already had. He gulped in a deep breath.

“Okay, hold still and please forgive me,” he begged Axel, readying his keyblade. He glanced nervously at Saïx. “Also, please don't kill me? This is the only thing I can think of.” without further explanation, he drove his keyblade forward, skewering the neoshadow, and stabbing Axel. He silently willed the haphazard solution to work. If Xehanort could pull his heart from his body and rip it in half before stuffing half of it back, there was no reason Ventus shouldn't be able to put a whole heart back in its body. He just really, really hoped that was Axel’s heart, not Saïx’s, because that would be a huge problem.

Axel made a choking noise, and the neoshadow _wailed_ , before it seemed to… swirl into Axel, as though the neoshadow were water, and Axel a drain. Axel collapsed onto the broken walkway like a puppet with its strings cut, and Ventus hurriedly banished his glove to check his pulse and peer into his eyes. The weird inverted teardrops were gone, was that a good sign, or a bad one? His pulse was strong, though, and his eyes were reacting normally, as far as Ventus could tell.

“I think it worked. Do you, uh, want to wait? Until he wakes up?” Ventus asked uncertainly. Saïx shook his head.

“That will not be necessary.” He replied. Ventus nodded, rematerializing his gloves and readying his keyblade.

“Okay, uh, Saïx, I need you to hold it closer,” Ventus asked, and Saïx retracted his elbow slightly. Ventus rolled his eyes. “Closer than that, I need to stab through _both_ of you.” Saïx sighed grouchily and compiled, and Ventus wasted no time in matching action to words, watching the process in a kind of horrified fascination. He checked Saïx over, and sat down to wait. He scoped out the building for an easily defensible spot to relocate to if it took too much longer. He'd just decided on a ledge he'd have to fly them to, when Axel groaned, rubbing his face.

“That's a fucking headrush…” the redhead groaned, sitting up. Ventus grinned, dispelling his armor.

“Hey, would you look at that. How are you feeling?” Ventus asks, relieved. Axel grinned at him cheekily, and it was good to see him smile like that, eyes crinkled and glowing with good humor. Real humor, not a half-memory.

"I'm probably going to feel like shit and have hellish nightmares, but gods right now I could just, I don't know…” Axel tipped his head back, laughing, even as tears spilled down his cheeks. “Shit, I don't even know.” Ventus grinned back at him, leaning his forehead against Axel’s bony shoulder.

“I know, Axel. Believe me, I know,” he choked, tears springing to his own eyes.

“Lea. My name's Lea, Ven. I'm _me_ again.” He heaved a shaky breath, resting a hand on the back of Ventus’s head. “Gods this is weird.” Ventus let out a watery chuckle.

“I know the feeling.” He mumbled, curling closer. A shifting noise caught his attention and he wiped at his eyes, trying to clear the tears away from his vision, glancing at Saïx.

He blinked.

“Uh, Ax- Lea, what…?” He pointed, befuddled. Saïx was… twisting? Rippling? Convulsing? Lea looked abruptly worried, staggering to his feet and pulling Ventus up with him.

“S’not good, I don't know if he'll recognize us in that form,” he mumbled, grabbing up the duffel bags.

“What form? Crap! _Heartless_!” Ventus summoned both keyblade and armor, but Lea yanked him away. “Hey, wait, what about Saïx?” Lea shook his head.

“Isa can take care of himself. We need to get the fuck out of here.” He said tersely, even as there was the sound of rending cloth and a deep, resounding roar. Ventus looked back over his shoulder and his eyes went wide.

“Okay, yeah. Hold on,” he said shakily, and in no time he flew them up to the ledge he'd seen earlier. “I-is that what a werewolf looks like then?” Ventus asked weakly, watching the creature Saïx had become tear through heartless like tissue paper. Lea shook his head.

“Not all the time. I think that's what GiGi told us was called Warbeast form. I never saw anyone use it…” Lea was watching with an equally stunned expression, and Ventus turned back to marvel. He’d read a book about wolves once, but this bore little resemblance to the animals in the book. For one, Saïx was almost ten feet tall and built like a brick wall. He seemed to be able to balance on two legs as well as four, and his front paws retained their dexterity. Add in the fact that his head was crowned with horns, of all things - enormous, weirdly-shaped things that looked just as deadly as the long, scything claws and the fangs - and Ventus did not want to be anywhere near that creature. A popping sound made him startle, turning back to Lea. The other man was holding- a rapidly inflating, popping bag?

“You're going to draw his attention to us!” Ventus hissed frantically. Then he took another look, and a whiff. “Is that- _microwave popcorn_?” Lea gave him a crooked grin.

“Yep! I've still got it!”

“Got _what_?” Ventus cried, exasperated. Lea looked at him with a startled expression.

“The finesse to use heat instead of actual fire? I was worried my magic might have gotten fucked up when I got my heart back.” He explained.

“Why aren't you more worried about the enormous creature your best friend turned into that might _literally try to eat us_?!” Ventus whisper-shrieked. Lea gave him a pitying look.

“He's not going to eat us. I've been pretty much a member of his family since I was, like, six. And you're wearing his clothes, so you're safe too.” He explained.

“His clothes?” Ventus blinked. “What do his clothes have to do with it?”

“You smell like him, therefore you're pack, therefore you're safe.” Lea shrugged, opening the steaming bag and offering him some. Ventus deflated.

“Well, that's good to know, I guess.” He sighed, dissipating his armor once more and running a hand through his hair. “No thanks, I hate popcorn. Got anything else?” He asked hopefully, glancing at the two duffel bags.

“I have cup noodle. And water. And water purification tabs, and more popcorn, and like three boxes of granola bars and two different flavors of protein bars and - ooh, banana chips! And a bag of dried apricots, but don't eat too many of those or you'll get the farts.” Ventus laughed softly.

“I'll take the cup noodle and some banana chips, thanks Lea.” He looked back to where Saïx had run off. “Will he be all right?”

“Who, Isa? Yeah, he won't conk out or anything. Probably went hunting once the heartless were done for. We don't exactly have a lot of food, and werewolves eat a lot, trust me. Their metabolisms are through the roof, something to do with the energy they use up transforming.” Lea shrugged, pouring water into the cup noodle and putting a fork on the lid to keep it down. Good to know he'd apparently brought some camping gear, the fork was heavy-duty high-grade plastic. He held his hand over it until steam began to escape the top, and then pushed it over. “There you go,” he said, and Ventus nodded, thinking.

“Where do we go from here?” he asked, wiggling his sock-clad toes against the rough concrete of their broken platform. Lea set down the bag, looking tired suddenly.

“I don't know. Maybe- we could try to find Xion.” He said, sounding soft and kind of lost. Ventus frowned slightly.

“Yeah, that would be good, but… where would we start looking? I mean, I guess we could go to the clock tower, but I kind of doubt she'd just show up for ice cream.” He nibbled his lip. “Maybe… I know a person who might be able to help. He helped me before… if he's still alive. He was already really old.” Ventus nibbled at his lip, picking up the cup noodle and taking an absent-minded bite.

He paused.

Chewed.

And then inhaled the rest of it in record time. Gods, when had he eaten last? His stomach was suddenly achingly empty. Lea watched him, startled.

“Well, someone was hungry,” he observed, and Ventus looked away, embarrassed.

“I haven't eaten in like, ten years.” He reminded the redhead. Lea shook his head.

“Right, of course. How are you not dead, though?” Lea raised an eyebrow.

“Magic?” Ventus shrugged helplessly. Lea gave him a commiserating nod, and made him a second cup noodle. He consciously tried to eat it slower, trying to trick his body, but his stomach was convinced it wasn't enough. Lea tucked the two empty containers and his empty popcorn bag into a trash bag he dug out of Saïx’s bag and tossed him a protein bar.

“Sorry, we've only got so many supplies. And you'll make yourself sick, eating too much too fast.” Lea reminded him, and Ventus sighed.

“Yeah…” That was another thing. “Do you guys have munny? I've got, like, three thousand munny, if it's still legal tender ten years later.” Lea shrugged.

“Yeah, it should be. And yeah, I've got all my pay, like, seventy, eighty thousand? Isa should have more, he didn't buy like anything other than basic toiletries.” Lea yawned suddenly. “Oh wow, I'm exhausted, shit. Do you mind if I…?” He pulled out a compact sleeping bag, and Ventus nodded, smiling.

“Go for it. Anything I should know for if Saïx comes back?”

“Well, he’ll understand you, whatever form he's in. He won't be able to talk, though. He'll need clothes to change back, the ones he was wearing are goners, judging by the scraps down there.” Axel pointed down the the deserted battlefield, pulling off his coat and dropping it atop his duffel. He stretched out on his sleeping bag with a sigh, folding his arms behind his head.

“The stars look familiar, here,” he mumbled, eyes drifting shut. Ventus looked up, wondering, and sighed, pulling his knees up to his chest and propping his chin on them. He didn't feel sleepy at all, not even tired. Was that a side effect of the magic that had sustained him? Aqua would know, she was so smart.

Guilt choked him for a moment. He'd been so unfair to Aqua, blaming her for everything. Yeah, she'd been bossy, but that was just sort of who she was. A bossy worrier. Their Master had put her in a bad position, and he'd heaped the blame on her.

Their Master…

Ventus felt a sting, and realized he'd dug his nails into the skin of his chest. He unclenched his muscles, and thought.

Had Eraqus really meant what he said? There was darkness everywhere, light couldn't exist without it. Wouldn't it be better if the light and dark were balanced? Ventus-before had always been in pain, unknowingly. He'd thought it was a regular part of his body, that pain. Bright-hot aches in his bones and his magic.

He knew now that was unchecked light, untempered by the darkness everyone carried. He wondered how the Princesses of Heart dealt with it. Maybe because they were born absolutely free of darkness, it didn't hurt them? Maybe his pain had stemmed from his unnatural creation.

Why had Eraqus tried to kill him? Ventus turned their conversation over in his mind.

...maybe he'd been scared? Ventus-before and Vanitas had been scared. Terrified, really. Fear led people to do stupid things. Ventus-before had felt- _suicidal_ with the fear of being rejected, of being hated and told they shouldn't exist. Vanitas’s fear of their Master had led them to go along with the plan to form the χ-blade, even though they hadn't wanted to.

A scrabbling, scraping noise caught his attention, and he bolted to his feet, keyblade materializing. A large wolf, maybe the size of a pony, leapt up onto their ledge, depositing something on the far edge. A dead something, maybe a small deer. Ventus didn't want to go investigate. He sighed, waving his weapon away in a flash of light.

“You scared me,” he mentioned, staying on his feet, wary of the werewolf. Saïx made a soft whine, his tail wagging slowly. Ventus smiled despite himself. “Lea said you would be able to understand me,” he mentioned, bouncing idly on his toes. Saïx nodded. “So, do you want me to call you Isa or Saïx? Uh, tap a paw once for the first, twice for the second?” A single tap, claws clicking against the concrete. “Okay, I'll do that.” Ventus idly rubbed his stomach, wondering if it had been long enough that he could eat more, and tempted to do a more thorough review of their supplies.

Isa turned away, and suddenly reality warped, and Isa was digging through his duffel bag, nude in the weak moonlight. Ventus choked on air. When he was done hacking up a lung, Isa had a tiny, lightweight camping stove set up, a pan slapped atop it to heat, and he was turning away with a camping plate and a sheathed knife. Ventus watched as he neatly sliced an enormous cut away, only barely small enough to be called a steak, and salted and peppered each side with cheap plastic boxes he produced from a carrying case that had been in his duffel. A small bottle of cooking oil followed, readying the pan, and then he laid the meat in to sizzle, putting everything away.

“Do all werewolves cook their prey? It seems like it's going to take a while,” he offers, fascinated. Isa shot him a small half-smile.

“That's for you. I trust you can take care of it from there?” He replied, and Ventus nodded dumbly, surprised and touched. Isa turned away, transforming again and turning back to the carcass. Ventus winced and quickly looked away, focusing on tending his steak. A clean plate with a fork and knife sat thoughtfully next to the stove, and he smiled.

“Thank you, Isa.” He muttered, and they fell into a comfortable silence.

The meat was good, a bit chewy and definitely more flavorful than he recalled. His stomach settled, and he sighed softly, carefully dismantling the stove, and finding soap, scrub brush, and a tin washbasin, bottom somewhat scorched. He did the dishes with a mixture of fire and ice magic, which took forever, but worked. He tapped his feet idly, still not sleepy. Isa transformed again and pulled on a pair of pants.

“Not sleeping, I take it?” Isa’s voice was deep, but no longer empty and cold. A tinge of humor warmed his words, and Ventus glanced over.

“No. Not sleepy or tired. I think the magic that preserved me messed up my sleep schedule, at least for a while.” He shrugged, chuckling, self-deprecating and awkward. “What about you?” He asked, eyeing the blue-haired man. Isa shrugged elegantly.

“The moon is up, and I haven't been able to transform in many, many years. I won't sleep tonight, I just have too much energy. It's the first time in a long time I've been able to convert moonlight into proper magic.” Isa explained, and Ventus couldn't help the thought that Aqua would be fascinated by Isa.

“Do you want to spar? I need to practice, my body’s just… I'm a bit taller than I used to be, and skinnier. I need to figure out how to deal with this, before we get in a _real_ fight.” He says, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. To his surprise, Isa nodded thoughtfully.

“Yes, that's a good idea. Come, then,” he says, rising from his crouch and summoning his claymore. It came obediently, and he smiled, pleased he could still summon the weapon.

When Axel woke, with the first pale fingers of the sunrise, they were sweaty and laughing. Ventus still needed more practice, but he had a better feel for his body’s abilities now. Axel teased them both, saying he wouldn't bother catching them if they fell asleep mid-flight, and they packed up camp. They loaded up Ventus’s keyblade glider once more, cumbersome and awkward, but all they could do.

Ventus breathed, pulling up the slightly outdated coordinates in his helmet’s visor, and waited until Isa pulled open a Corridor, and it seemed to take more effort than before. Ventus throttled through quickly, least it collapse, and soared through the dark paths, following the route his navigation unit recommended.

“How do you know where you're going?” Axel shouted, voice nearly stolen by the wind. Ventus keyed the volume output of his helmet up with a blink.

“I have a navi-gummi installed in my helmet!” He called back. “Here, Isa, quickly!” Isa tore open a new door, and his keyblade decided it had had enough of their combined weight, sending them tumbling in an untidy heap on a soft, grassy verge. Ventus looked up hopefully, and his heart soared when he saw the strange, crooked tower of Master Yen Sid.

Hopefully, he was still alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry we didn't get Xion this chapter. She might be in the next one, but she will definitely be in the one after that.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay. I got married! Planning a wedding is kind of awful, just saying. But rejoice! WaywardDesertKnight and I have finally actually tied the knot!

Ventus scrambled to his feet and nearly ran to the door. Yen Sid would have answers, answers Ventus _needed_. He knocked, holding his breath, and released it in a whoosh when the door creaked open. Animate brooms came and wrested the duffel bags away from Lea, to his vocal displeasure.

“It's okay, Lea, these are his servants, magical constructs he powers.” Ventus said soothingly, starting up the stairs. “Come on!” He nearly ran up the stairs, eager to speak to the retired master. He skidded to a stop outside his office, straightening his borrowed shirt a touch nervously, before knocking, almost timidly.

“Enter,” the voice was the same, old, crackly and somehow comforting. Ventus pushed the door open, tugging the other two in with him, and bowed.

“Master Yen Sid! It's Ventus, if you remember me. It's been a long time.” He looked up, and the old man was smiling, a rare expression from what Ventus could recall.

“Ventus, my boy. Too long have you slumbered, and much has changed. Tell me, how did you regain control over your heart and soul?” He looked Ventus over, gentle and fond. Ventus scratched the back of his neck, pleased.

“It was Lea here, really. We were all part of this thing, Organization Thirteen,” Yen Sid raised an eyebrow, but kept his peace for now. “My heart was still dormant, but I had been ejected from the heart I had been sleeping in. They thought I was Sora’s Nobody, and called me Roxas. Lea brought me to Castle Oblivion, where we found the Chamber of Waking. I rejoined my body there, and escaped the Organization with Lea and Isa, who were also Nobodies at the time. We found their hearts with the aid of my keyblade, and I reintegrated them.” He summarized as best he could. Yen Sid’s eyebrows rose.

“Can you elaborate on how you located and reintegrated their hearts?” he asked, folding his hands before his face. Ventus shifted, a touch embarrassed.

“Well, I really wasn't sure it would work at all, but I figured since I had been split apart, it was possible I could do it. I had them touch my keyblade and really _want_ to find them, and it worked. We located their heartless, thankfully not within Kingdom Hearts, and I sort of, ah, stabbed them. Then the heartless went inside? I was kind of basing it off of my memories of when m-master pulled my heart from my body and broke it.” He shrugged, a touch uncomfortable. Yen Sid favored him with a surprisingly gentle smile, standing, and moving to Ventus, placing gentle hands upon his shoulders.

“Then it is my privilege to bestow upon you, Ventus Valerius, your Mark of Mastery, for accomplishing what was previously thought impossible, uniting a heartless with their nobody and restoring the person they used to be.” Yen Sid declaimed. Ventus’s eyes went wide.

“Th-thank you, sir,” he said, soft and shocked. Yen Sid released him, smiling at all three of them.

“Now, I have three houseguests who can grant you the gift of clothing. Go out the door, they're across the hall. Afterwards my servants will show you to your rooms, and to the dining room.” It was a clear dismissal, and the three of them bowed and exited.

“You two okay?” Ventus checked. Isa nodded silently, and Lea made a face.

“Yeah, he poked us with his magic a bit, but I think he was just making sure we did have hearts.” Lea shrugged, and draped an arm over each of their shoulders, steering them to the other door. Ventus knocked politely before opening it, peering in to find three very short older women with wings. Well, that was new.

“Excuse us, but the master of this tower said to see you three about clothes?” Isa’s voice was warm and low, and it commanded attention in a politely insistent way. The three fairies (had to be fairies, right?) broke off their argument and looked over at them.

“Oh, but you're not Sora!” The blue-clad one exclaimed.

“You two look like you're from that Organization!” The red-clad one fretted. Ventus stepped forward.

“It's all right, I restored their hearts,” he materialized his keyblade as proof, holding it in a non threatening position, and smiled at them hopefully. “So we need some new clothes, you know? And Master Yen Sid assured us that you were the best of the best,” he flattered gently. You were supposed to flatter fairies, right? The sight of his keyblade sent them all into a tizzy, but they soon sorted themselves out.

“I'm Fauna,” the green fairy introduced herself, “that's Flora, and that's Merryweather,” she indicated the red and blue fairies in turn.

“I'm Isa, this is Ventus and Lea,” the werewolf returned politely. Pleasantries out of the way, they split off into pairs. Ventus ended up with Fauna, who circled around him tutting gently under her breath, and poked at his shoulder plate and belt.

“Powerful magic in these,” she commented. “Your armor?” Ventus nodded. “Excellent, I'll work around it. And may I compliment your color choice?” She winked cheekily, and startled a laugh out of him, before showering him with magic. His borrowed jeans transformed into cargo shorts, black with emerald-green stitching, with decorative straps in the same color. His dirty socks transformed into comfortable green and black hiking boots, with thick green socks. His oversized tank top shrank to fit his body, remaining black, and a short green hooded jacket materialized atop it. His hands gained black and green fingerless gloves.

“There you go, my dear!” Fauna clapped her hands, looking incredibly pleased. Ventus grinned, admiring her work.

“I love it, thanks so much!” He chirped, and turned to check on the other two. Both of them seemed to have set aside their long coats, which made sense, given the coats’ protective magic. Lea wore tight black jeans with dark red stripes running up the sides, tucked into black combat boots with red soles and laces. He also wore a black tank top, with a thick red stripe at the bottom hem, a soft red hoodie over it, and red fingerless gloves. Isa was clad in sensible dark blue jeans, tucked into black and blue hiking boots. His tank top had turned white, with a glimmering pale-gold crescent moon on it, and a short hooded blue jacket. His gloves were black and blue, with more little moons on the backs. Ventus noted with amusement that the zip of the jacket was decorated with another little golden crescent moon.

“Looking good, guys!” He flashed them both thumbs up. Their work done, the fairies wished them well and drifted off, so the three of them excused themselves. The brooms brought them first to the dining room, where they ate in contemplative silence, even the normally talkative Lea.

Ventus was feeling finally genuinely tired by the time they were shown their rooms, small but homey. Ventus didn't comment when Lea and Isa seemed to opt to share a room, instead taking a long, lovely shower before collapsing to the bed in his tank top and boxers. They'd need to pick up more clothes, though these seemed to be charmed to stay eternally clean and smelling fresh.

He fell asleep, which puzzled him a bit, given how long he'd slept.

* * *

 

Lea curled into Isa’s side, yawning sleepily. They'd both showered and changed into some of their old boxers and tank tops for bed. Isa seemed inclined to sleep tonight, and didn't object to the cuddling, wrapping an arm around Lea’s skinny waist.

“Missed you,” he mumbled, pressing an absent-minded kiss to Isa’s jaw. Isa grumbled and nuzzled his nose into Lea’s soft, layered hair, free of his usual hair gel. Isa had also washed out his own hair gel, leaving the short top layer of his hair loose. “You should get a haircut, even that mess out,” Lea muttered softly, and Isa snorted.

“Only if you give up hair gel for good,” he muttered back. Lea thought about it for a moment.

“Yeah, okay. New me, new lease on life sort of thing, right? New look. Plus, I don't know how often I'll be in a position to buy more.” He shrugged a shoulder. “I can cut your hair in the morning, okay? I hope you brought hair ties, though, I'm gonna need them.” He cracked a yawn, and Isa heaved a long-suffering sigh.

“All right. You're going to look like your brother, you know.” He murmured, drawing Lea a little closer to press his nose under the redhead’s ear. Lea giggled sleepily.

“There's worse people to look like. Besides, Reno raised me.”

“GiGi would beg to differ. According to her, Reno should never have been given custody of a child at thirty, let alone at barely eighteen.” Isa replied dryly.

“He was legally an adult and my only living relative, and he agreed,” Lea pointed out, and Isa huffed, burrowing a bit closer to Lea’s warmth. A concession. Lea yawned again, and the two settled into sleep.

A soft scream woke Isa an indeterminate time later, moonlight still seeping in through the curtains. Lea was still asleep, so he went to Ventus’s room, knocking lightly before peeking in. Ventus was hunched into a ball at the headboard, hyperventilating, eyes wide and unseeing. Isa came in and sat on the end of the bed, giving him space.

“Ventus, you're all right. You're with Lea and myself, and we're at Master Yen Sid’s tower. He granted you your Mark of Mastery, whatever that is, and we met three fairies who gave us new clothes. Nothing will hurt you here. You need to try to slow your breathing.” He kept his voice low and soothing, repeating his monologue until Ventus looked much calmer, eyes fluttering and head dipping. “I'm going to take you to mine and Lea’s room, okay? I'm going to touch you now.” He laid a tentative hand on Ventus’s shoulder, and when the blond didn't attack, scooped him gently up into his arms, awkwardly maneuvering around the doors, closing them as gently as possible. The small blond clung, and Isa flopped them both onto the bed, wrapping an arm around each of their shoulders and resigning himself to being the middle of the cuddle puddle.

Sleep returned surprisingly easily, though he woke again to pet Lea’s hair as he quietly cried his way through a nightmare. It was lucky he didn't need as much sleep as a regular person.

Morning dawned without fanfare, a knock sounding at the door and pulling Isa and Ventus awake. Lea rolled over and pulled a pillow over his head. Ventus was confused, until Isa explained the situation.

“I'm really sorry I woke you up,” Ventus fretted softly, and Isa shook his head.

“I don't need as much sleep as a human. It was fine.” He replied, standing and going to the door, peering out. A broom stood there passively, a note in one of its wooden hands.

“It’s for you, Ventus,” Isa said, going to pull on his clothes, pushing his overlong fringe away from his eyes with a touch of frustration. Maybe Lea had been onto something with the haircut idea.

“Oh, Master Yen Sid wants to meet me. I'll see you later?” Ventus glanced back and Isa, and he nodded, before leaving to find some breakfast to tempt Lea out of bed.

Breakfast, a haircut (finding scissors had been an adventure), and a hair tie for Lea later, the two of them were officially at loose ends.

“I'm _bored_.” Lea whined, and Isa rolled his eyes.

“Read a book, then,” he muttered, engrossed in one of his own, a heavy treatise on soul magics.

“They don't have any novels, and academic texts put me to sleep.” Lea complained.

“I'm back,” Ventus slipped into the little, unused study they'd appropriated. “You find anything interesting? I like your haircut, Isa.” Ventus looked a bit less cheerful, a bit more tired and worn. Lea jumped up, mouth creased in worry.

“What's wrong, Sunshine?” He asked. Ventus shrugged.

“Master Yen Sid was telling me the duties of a Master, now that I am one,” he looked a bit embarrassed. “And I… I asked about Terra and Aqua.” Tears gleamed in his eyes, and Isa stood, carefully setting aside his book to go and comfort his pack (when had Ventus become pack?). They hugged him, and Ventus cried, quiet and aching.

“I take it there wasn't good news?” Lea finally asked, stroking through Ventus’s riot of curls.

“No... after Aqua took me to Yen Sid, and then to the Chamber of Waking, she went to confront Xehanort, to save Terra. Yen Sid... he doesn't know what happened to Terra, but it wasn't good. His armor, and his keyblade, haunt the Keyblade Graveyard. I don't know what that means for the rest of him."

“The _what_ now?” Lea interrupted, raising and eyebrow.

“The place where we fought Xehanort for the last time. It was the site of a great battle, where keyblade wielders fought each other. Some say that was the end of a world.” Ventus breathed deeply. “Aqua- she fell into darkness. The Realm of Darkness. Master Yen Sid said there was an equal chance of her being alive and dead now, though King Mickey- that's who Yen Sid said saw her, when he was looking for the Kingdom Key of Darkness- he has hope.”

“Well shit,” Lea muttered. Isa agreed silently. “...what now?” Ventus took another bolstering breath.

“Master Yen Sid suggested we find Sora.” He chuckled, turning bright eyes up at Lea. “You'll never guess where he is- Twilight Town, of all places.” Lea groaned softly.

“Under our fucking noses,” he griped. Isa sighed softly.

“Ventus, if you aren't Sora’s nobody, how will he wake?” He asked, and Lea went still. He'd actually met the kid, after all. Ventus bit his lip.

“The nature of his heart, the way it was sheltering mine, the way that he had his friend’s heart inside him for a time, which was really only possible _because_ he had mine… It really messed him up. When he released his friend's heart by turning himself into a heartless, he _should_ have formed a nobody, you're entirely right. But instead, it pushed my heart out with hers, and where a nobody would have been formed Roxas was instead. He was my dormant heart and a bundle of Sora’s emotions and memories, all tied up in an equally dormant parcel. That's why his friend, the Princess of Heart, was able to restore his body so quickly- it had transmuted along with his heart, creating a self-aware heartless, which is also why he never attacked them. He knew who he was all along.” He said.

"Okay, but how do you give back those memories and emotions, then?” Lea asked.

“That's the thing. I don't have them anymore.” Ventus said. Isa breathed in sharply.

“Xion does.” Isa said with utter surety. “It- _she_ was constructed to siphon power and memory from Roxas. Did she take _everything_?”

“She did.” Ventus nodded. “She is, for all intents and purposes, Sora’s true nobody now.”

“But where do we _find_ her?” Lea asked, frustrated. Ventus smiled.

“Where we always found her, silly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've already started writing the next chapter, and it opens with Xion! Huzzah!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise! I've had a lot of inspiration lately. :)
> 
> Sorry about the sheer amount of dialogue here, they were feeling like chatty bastards.
> 
> Also, let it be known I hate Ansem the Wise, and without my sweet, beautiful husband, WaywardDesertKnight's help this chapter would have taken a lot longer.

Xion slowly ascended the clock tower, a hard lump in her throat. It was time. She didn't want to, but she had to give her life to Roxas, so he could give his life back to Sora. Her face had already changed into the familiar stranger’s, so she wore her hood up. Strange, that she didn't look like Roxas instead. She'd half thought she would.

She was afraid to die. Even though… she'd never lived in the first place.

He was there. Sunshine-golden hair and a coat too big for him, curled and hunched in on himself. She sat beside him, ripping open the packaging of a bar of ice cream to hand it to him.

“You eat it, Xion,” he told her, and something was wrong with his voice. She glanced over, and then did a double take, eyes wide and throat locked up. He was Roxas, but  _ not _ Roxas.

“Roxas-  _ what _ ?” She gasped, trembling. She nearly dropped the ice cream bar, until not-Roxas gently took it from her. He was smiling, sweet and gentle, and it made his eyes glow with kindness. Like her- like  _ Sora’s _ memories of Kairi.

“I'm not Roxas, Xion. Or- I am. I'm who Roxas should have been.” He said, and she panicked. 

“But- Sora! Riku said… What's going to happen to Sora?!” Her breathing went choppy and fast, and he put the ice cream back in the wrapper and took her hand.

“Easy, Xion. Deep breaths. It's gonna be okay. I'm gonna tell you a story, okay?” He said, and she nodded miserably, trying to match her breathing to his. “That's it, Xion, you're doing great. So. Once there was a boy named Ventus, who was apprenticed to a very bad man who wanted to do a very bad thing. In order to do the bad thing, the bad man, called Xehanort, tried to make Ventus create what's known as the χ-blade. When Ventus couldn't do it, Xehanort took his heart out of his body and broke it in half, putting all the light in one half and all the darkness in the other. A lot of things happened after that, but they all came down to a great battle, in which Ventus’s two halves were forced to join again, creating the χ-blade after all.

“Ventus’s big sister Aqua stopped Xehanort, but Ventus’s heart had been too badly damaged, and fell into a dormant state, seeking out the heart of a young boy. The young boy welcomed the still-broken halves of Ventus and helped heal him. Then, one day, the young boy was forced to make a sacrifice, and Ventus was thrown from his heart, accidentally taking some of the boy’s memories with him. The dormant heart of Ventus couldn't remember anything, and acted very strangely. He was recruited to an Organization, and made two very special friends.”

“Wait- so that means you're… Ventus?” Xion asked. “You were never a nobody in the first place?” She asked, eyes wide. “But- what's going to happen to Sora, then?”

“Roxas had Sora’s memories, remember? But the Organization made you to siphon power from Roxas. What they didn't expect is that you took those memories, too.” Ventus told her with a soft, gentle smile. Xion felt wildly conflicted.

“But Riku said I had to give my life, these memories, back to Roxas, so he could give them back to Sora.” She said softly. Ventus squeezed her hand.

“Roxas no longer exists. You took all those memories, and he found his body in Castle Oblivion. I'm me again, and you need to go become yourself again, Xion. Lower your hood?” he asked softly, and she did, hesitantly. Ventus smiled. “It's nice to meet you, Xion, I'm Ventus. Do you want to be whole again? You are Sora’s true nobody now.” He said, even and soft.

“I don't want everyone to forget me, though!” She choked, tears spilling over her cheeks. “Everyone says I should never have existed, and if I join with Sora, I  _ won't _ have!” Ventus shifted closer and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“I don't believe that, not really. Yeah, we might forget about you for a time, but you made your mark in our hearts, and hearts always remember. Plus, we all still remember Roxas, right? What about Axel? Remember him?” He asked, and she nodded, confused. Someone shifted in the shadows, stepping forward and sitting on Ventus’s other side.

“If no one's gonna eat this before it melts, I'm gonna,” a familiar voice remarked, and she stared. There, eating the slightly melty ice cream she'd brought, was Axel, but not.

“You too?” She asked, eyes wide. 

“Name’s Lea, got it-”

“Memorized, yeah,” she laughed, scrubbing at her eyes. He looked different too, without the tattoos, his bright green eyes touched with the barest tint of blue. His hair was in a ponytail at the nape of his neck, shorter strands spilling out over his head, held away from his face with a headband. It was a good look.

“And I'm Isa. I owe you an apology, Xion. I mistreated you, and I'm sorry.” Xion stared, open-mouthed at Saïx, or, she guessed, Isa. His hair was cut short, choppy and layered in a way that softened his severe face. His scars looked old and faded instead of pink and raw, and his eyes, instead of orange, were a pale blue-green. 

“You- what?” She managed, bewildered. Ventus smiled at her gently. 

“Exactly what he said, Xion. Now come on. You want to go meet Sora? You can introduce me to Riku, okay?” Ventus said gently. Xion stood, a bit shaky.

“O-okay, I guess.” She said, feeling suddenly rather short when Ventus and Lea stood back up. Ventus stripped out of the coat and handing it back to Isa. He looked quite stylish under it, all three of them did, actually. “Why… are you helping me? Or, I guess… you're really helping Sora, not me…” 

“We're helping both of you. Yes, you may be the same person now, but you weren't, not always. And all three of us know that, and we'll always know that. I love you, Xion, and that love won't go away if you choose to become one with Sora. You'll always be Xion, even if the only place you'll live is inside our hearts.” He moved slowly and put his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. The first hug she'd ever had, she'd only ever had Sora’s memories before.

She started crying. She didn't even know she  _ could _ cry. Lea hugged them both, and Isa stood awkwardly close by, offering quiet support. She appreciated it.

“It's okay to be scared, Xion,” Lea said, uncharacteristically solemn. “I was scared too. But it's worth it, to have those memories and be a person again. Yes, your memories are precious, Axel’s are equally as important to me as Lea’s. I'm both people, Xion. You can be a whole person- I guess not  _ again _ , but doesn't that sound good? And, if you think about it, it's also a kick in the dick to Vexen and Xemnas, right? They made you to throw you away, but you have a chance to become a  _ somebody _ , and that's not even a thing either of them have managed. Isn't that worth a shot?” He asked softly. She rested her head against Ventus’s chest, and he stroked her hair.

“You really think I'll- he'll remember? Being me?” She asked, soft and tearful. Surprisingly, it was Isa who answered.

“It was Xigbar who originally thought you'd be completely forgotten by everyone who knew you if or once you were… killed, or reabsorbed by Roxas. Admittedly, I did believe it at the time. It was a theory that made a lot of sense, you were not, at that time, a real person in my thinking. Which was wrong of me. We weren't even wholly sure Sora would have Roxas’s memories, because he spent such a short time as a heartless, and, quite frankly, because Roxas was a very atypical nobody to begin with. However, now I think it's entirely possible that, given the absence of Roxas and the way you have, very uniquely, become the nobody of a person who is still whole… I think he'll remember being you, just as you remember being him. And I don't think we will forget your existence- you've become a person, you're no longer a doll or a puppet or a tool. You're  _ Xion _ .” He bowed his head, acknowledging her. She gave him a shaky, hopeful smile.

“You'll all make sure I won't just disappear? That I'll be remembered?” She checked. All three of them agreed. “Okay, then… I guess I'll do it.” She was still a bit shaky, but when Lea and Ventus released her, she took their hands and they held on tight. “He's this way. At the old manor house.” She said softly, and led the way.

* * *

Riku paused, hearing a soft voice. He reached out with his heart-sense to confirm.

“Xion? What are you doing here? I thought you'd decided to go to Roxas after all.” He said softly.

“I did, but… Roxas doesn't exist anymore. Not really…” 

“Hey now, Xion. I told you I was Roxas, didn't I?” The voice was adult, light and cheerful and vaguely familiar. Riku lifted the edge of his blindfold and cautiously peered over at the speaker. He blinked, not sure he believed what he was seeing. 

“M- Mister  _ Caelum _ ?” He croaked, utterly shocked. The man who looked like his best friend’s father’s head came up, and he looked shocked too.

“Y- you know my brother?” He gasped. 

“I- uh, I guess so? Mr. Caelum Valerius is my best friend's dad.” Riku muttered. The blond broke out into a bright smile.

“How wonderful! I'm Ventus Valerius. You must be Riku. Wait- isn't your best friend Sora?” Ventus had a weird look on his face. “My heart was asleep in Sora’s heart.”

“Wow, so you were taking a nap inside your nephew?” The tall redhead remarked. Ventus looked vaguely ill, and the blue-haired man pressed his hand over his face.

“For the love of the moon,  _ think _ before you speak, Lea,” he growled. Lea winced.

“Yeah, okay, that sounded better in my head.” He muttered. Ventus sighed.

“I am Isa Lécuyer, and this is Lea Sinclair.” The gruff man introduced. Riku scrambled for his manners.

“R- Riku Kusanagi, sir,” he said. The intimidating man smiled.

“Just Isa, Mr. Kusanagi.”

“Please don't call me that,” he muttered, pulling his blindfold back down. “That just sounds weird. Makes me think I'm back in school or something.” Isa chuckled softly. 

“But yeah. Roxas doesn't exist anymore because Roxas wasn't a nobody, he was a dormant heart, my heart.” Ventus told him, and Riku felt his chest seize up in terror. 

“But Sora-”

“It's okay, Riku.” A gentle had squeezed his shoulder. “Xion had already drained out all of those memories belonging to Sora, remember? In doing so, she became Sora’s true nobody. And she's come to help him.” Ventus said softly, and Riku gasped in a breath.

“R- right. I should bring you to Sora, then,” he said, voice raspy. Ventus patted his shoulder, and stepped away.

“Are you ready, Xion? Remember everything we told you, okay?” Ventus told her softly. Riku wondered why he was treating her with such gentle respect. DiZ never afforded Naminé any respect. He kept telling Riku the nobodies were just a means to an end, that they shouldn't exist, and therefore it was a waste to treat them with any sort of kindness. Riku… Riku had too soft a heart to treat them with indifference. 

“This way,” he muttered, leading them along a well-trodden path through dust and debris. 

“I wonder why we never bothered to search this place?” Lea’s voice was soft, musing. Riku frowned.

“Why would you?” He asked, curiosity piqued.

“Well, when we were-”

“Riku, why have you brought outsiders here? They look like members of the Organization!” DiZ’s voice was thundering in the broken, empty hall. Riku flinched slightly. 

“They aren't!” He protested, but it was too little, too late.

“Is that not Number Eight, Axel, and Number Seven, Saïx?” DiZ demanded, and a soft hand grasped Riku’s shoulder as he pulled up his blindfold again to get a good look at Isa and Lea, desperate to prove that he hadn't brought their enemies to the base. Ventus pushed Riku behind him, glaring up at DiZ. Riku thought that would work better if he and Ventus weren't nearly the same height.

“You're right, that is what they once were called,” Ventus said calmly. Riku’s heart skipped a beat. 

“There, you see, you've been foolish, Riku, and too soft on all of these damned nobodies-” DiZ was working himself into fine form. Naminé peered out from the banister rail, and crept forward to catch Xion’s hand. A flash of light, and there was a  _ keyblade _ in Ventus’s hand, white and crimson. Riku stared, wide-eyed, as Ventus pointed it at DiZ. 

“Shut up.” He said in the ringing silence. “You have no right to say  _ anything _ . Isa and Lea have their hearts again; by my hand, my blade, my magic, I have made them whole again. Not that it would have mattered, because they were still  _ people _ without their hearts, people worthy of dignity and respect.” His voice was cold, and Riku shifted back, unconsciously putting himself between the brewing fight and Naminé and Xion’s small forms. Naminé caught his hand in her free one, and he thoughtlessly gave it a comforting squeeze. Isa and Lea stepped forward, shielding all three of them with their bodies. Riku tugged his blindfold back down.

“Nobodies aren't people, these things are wasted on them-” DiZ went to reply, but Ventus interrupted him.

“Nobodies  _ are _ people, just people in fragmented form. If you were a nobody, you would want to be respected, wouldn't you?” Ventus said reasonably.

“Wanting is an  _ emotion _ , nobodies have no emotions, do you even understand what they are you foolish boy?” DiZ sounded furious, and Xion and Naminé pressed close to Riku’s back. He was strongly considering summoning Soul Eater, in case this went even more south.

“No, you're wrong. Nobodies  _ can _ want, that's how we were able to find Isa and Lea’s hearts.” Ventus calmly refuted. DiZ snorted. “Disbelieve me all you like, it's true. However, I'll be supervising the remainder of this operation. I'd like it I'd you would excuse yourself quietly.” Ventus’s words rang with quiet authority, but Riku winced. That wasn't going to go over well, DiZ was obsessed with monitoring Sora’s progress, even though it was Naminé doing all the work. 

“If you think I'm going to just hand over this project you have another thing coming, young man.” DiZ said quietly. Ventus shifted into some kind of ready stance.

“As Sora’s uncle, I think it falls to me to ensure his safety.” He said sharply. “You, whoever you are, clearly don't have his best interests in mind. What selfish purpose do you have here?” He snapped, but didn't give DiZ time to answer. “Because I see a selfish old man, high on the power he gets from abusing and manipulating  _ children _ for his own petty games. And I am  _ sick of it _ . Now show your face, you coward.” Ventus was breathing heavily by the end of it, and Riku felt more than a little unsettled. He didn't think he was being abused? DiZ scoffed.

“What business is it of yours how I conduct my work, uncle or no? What matters at present is reviving Sora and stopping the Organization.” He shook his head dismissively. “If you truly have Sora’s interests at heart, you would understand that the priority is his recovery.” Ventus glared daggers at him, as a low growl rumbled in Isa’s chest.

“I don’t think Sora would be very happy knowing his awakening came at the cost of making other people,  _ especially _ his friends, miserable and trapped in abusive situations. Now take off the mask and tell me why you're really doing this.” Ventus ordered.

“If it will allow me to return to my work,then so be it.” DiZ unclipped the end of his face wraps and let them fall away. Isa and Lea both inhaled sharply. Riku snuck a peek, and found that DiZ was an unremarkable man with shoulder-length blond hair.

“Ansem the Wise. It makes sense now. Your scent of stupidity and oversight is all over this setup.” Isa growled lowly. Riku choked on air.  _ That _ was  _ Ansem _ ? But he looked nothing like the guy! And he shouldn't even be alive if it  _ was _ him, Sora had defeated Ansem!

“And who are you to say such things?” DiZ snapped. 

“Oh, I'm just going on what my great-grandmother told me. Odette Lécuyer was never a fan of yours.” Isa said dryly. DiZ didn't flinch, but his face took on a peculiar expression.

“But that  _ can't _ be Ansem!” Riku finally burst out. “Ansem’s heartless was possessing me, and then Sora killed him!  _ How can that be Ansem _ ?!” DiZ gave him a look, a strange cross between uncomfortable and pitying.

“One of my apprentices used my name as his, and has been masquerading as me.” He explained briefly. Riku gaped at him, completely at a loss. That kind of stuff only happened in movies,  _ how was this his life _ ?! “I believe it was Xehanort.” Ventus flinched. Ansem’s eyes lingered on him curiously. “You've met my apprentice?”

“He was one of my teachers in the use of the keyblade.” Ventus said stiffly. Ansem’s eyebrows shot up.

“Surely he wouldn't have been old enough,” he dismissed. Ventus stared at him.

“He  _ was _ , he's like fifty! Or, it's been ten years, I guess sixty now.” Ventus said, indignant. Ansem waved his hand.

“A different Xehanort, then, perhaps a relative, it is a very uncommon name. My apprentice was not yet twenty when he came to me, with a nasty case of amnesia, to boot.” Ansem said. Ventus looked highly suspicious. Riku wondered if they could get back on track any time soon.

“Look, uh, can you argue later? Xion said she was ready to join with Sora, can we get on that?” He asked. Ansem looked startled.

“The doll? No, no, I've told you, Riku, the doll won't do. We need Roxas.” Ansem said, looking impatient. 

“ _ I'm _ Roxas.” Ventus snarled. “And Xion is Sora, and  _ never call her a doll again _ .” There was a breeze suddenly, inside the ruined mansion, plucking at their clothes, threatening to turn into a gale. Ansem looked- well, almost comically dumbfounded.

“But that makes no logical-” he considered carefully before resuming. “I will concede you bear a striking resemblance to Roxas, however the fact remains Roxas is Sora’s Nobody and thus the only means of awakening him.” Ventus blew out an exasperated sigh, and Riku strongly suspected he was rolling his eyes.

“I am Roxas.” He enunciated carefully, clear in his tone that he thought Ansem was being particularly stupid. “Roxas wasn't a nobody, he was my dormant heart given a body, probably through the chunk of memories I took with me. Xion was created to siphon power from me, and in doing so she accidentally also took those memories. Roxas returned to me, and we're one again. Xion is Sora’s nobody now, and you are going to show her some common decency and respect, or I'm going to be forced to exercise violence. Now, if you just shut up and stay out of the way, which includes not going anywhere  _ near _ any of these kids, we won't have a problem, am I clear?” Ventus sounded incredibly tired of explaining himself. Riku couldn't really blame him. Ansem, clearly recognizing the full extent of his situation, merely nodded, looking tired and mildly annoyed. Ventus nodded sharply, turning away. He sighed, scrubbing his hands through his curly hair. “Okay. Sorry for the unpleasantness, everyone. So, you're Naminé, right? Lea’s told me a bit about you. It's nice to meet you.” He smiled gently, and she smiled back sweetly.

“It's nice to meet you too,” she murmured, turning and beckoning to them. “Sora’s this way, come on.” She kept her grip on Xion’s hand, quietly comforting the other girl. 

“So, you've been piecing back together Sora’s memories, Naminé?” Lea asked, and she nodded. He smiled. “Don't bury Xion’s memories, yeah? I realize that asshole back there probably told you to, but that's not really fair to either of them, you know?” Lea squeezed Xion’s shoulder comfortingly, and she smiled up at him, sweet and tentative. Naminé smiled softly.

“Okay. I can do that, if you want.” She said softly, glancing at Xion. “I think I understand- it's not fair to Sora to have no memories at all of the time he was asleep, and it's not fair to Xion to be forgotten?” She asked, and Riku was always surprised at how perceptive she was. Like Kairi, which made sense, given that she was Kairi’s nobody. 

“Got it in one, kiddo,” Lea said, clicking his tongue. Naminé led them underground, to the place where Sora slept, suspended within a pod that looked like the bud of an enormous flower.

“Are you ready?” Naminé asked Xion, gentle and careful. Xion took a deep breath, still seeming nervous. 

“I think so,” she murmured, and Naminé went around to the back to open the pod. It bloomed open, and Xion nervously took a step forward, then another-

And she was gone.

The flower closed around him again, and Naminé was humming softly.

“How long will it be before he wakes?” Ventus asked quietly. Naminé shook her head.

“Perhaps an hour, maybe two? Xion’s integrating very quickly.” She murmured. Ventus nodded, and settled down to the floor to sit and wait. Riku, Isa, and Lea followed suit.

Riku dozed off, somehow. He was startled awake with the soft mechanical whirring of the pod blooming open again, the sound of someone yawning widely, the soft crackle and pop of someone stretching out stiff joints. His heart was beating double-time, and he resisted the urge to tear off his blindfold and drink in Sora’s dynamic features. 

“C’mon Sora, you lazy bum,” he said softly. Sora gasped.

_ "Riku _ !” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Riku is very Done. And surprise! Personal Ventus backstory! :D Riku and Sora have parents!!!
> 
> About Ansem the Wise: I hate his character, but don't think he was an inherently bad person, he just has a tendency to always think of the bigger picture, to the detriment of everything and everyone around him. As well the way he treats the people around him, especially Naminé, is abusive in my view. Ventus is especially sensitive to this because he was in the care of a cut and dried abuser, Xehanort.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who got KH 2.8 and MASSIVE FEELINGS ABOUT AQUA OMG just let my precious girl be happy you fuckers.
> 
> Also it is my firm belief that Yen Sid is far more whimsical then he lets on.

Ventus watched with wistful fondness as his newfound nephew tripped over his own bare feet to get to Riku and squeeze him in a bone-cracking hug. Lea draped an arm over his shoulders, tucking him against his side. Ventus huffed softly. He wasn't going to start crying again, he swore, but at the same time, he appreciated the comfort.

“Rikuuuuu! When did you get so tall? What are you wearing? Where are we? Why does my jumpsuit fit so badly right now, that kind of hurts, ouch. Where's Donald and Goofy? Where's Kairi, is she back on the Islands, is she safe? Why are you wearing a blindfold, that looks really silly. Where's King Mickey, did you find him? How'd you get out of the Darkness?” Ventus laughed at the absolute hail of questions, as Riku slapped his hand over Sora’s mouth. Sora turned and looked, and wide blue eyes got even wider as he forced Riku’s hand down, looking guilty and panicked. “ _Dad_?!” Sora’s voice cracked straight down the middle in a glorious, high-pitched squeak.

“No, I'm your dad's little brother, Ventus,” he said, taking pity on his nephew. Sora’s eyes went even rounder.

“Blink, kid, your eyeballs are gonna dry out,” Lea said, laughing.

“I have an _uncle_ ? How come dad never said anything? Where have you been? How _old_ are you, you look a lot younger than dad, come to think of it. Do you like ice cream? How much trouble am I in?” Sora breathed in deep, and Ventus held up a hand to forestall any more questions.

“Yes, you have an uncle,” he ticked off a finger, “I ran away when I was eleven and you were a baby, so that's probably why he never said anything. I've been basically in a magically induced coma for ten years. I'm twenty-five, Caelum is ten years older than me. I do like ice cream, my favorite flavor is sea-salt. And you're not in nearly as much trouble as I am, if that makes you feel any better.” He grinned, and Sora looked downright starry-eyed.

“Wow! Can we get ice cream? We should get ice cream! You're here, Riku’s here,”

“I hope you're not forgetting us!” The voice was squawky and irate.

“Donald! Goofy! I could never forget you guys!” Sora laughed, finally letting go of Riku to go and hug the newcomers. Riku breathed deeply, rubbing his side with a wince. Ventus laughed again, leaning into Lea’s side. He remembered being that bouncy and unfocused when he was young. Actually- he still was. Wow, he should try to find a psychiatrist again and get his ADD back under control. Ventus shook his head, refocusing himself with some effort.

“Sora, I'm not sure we can stop for ice cream, we need to get back to Master Yen Sid’s tower and get you some new clothes, a bath, and some food, yeah?” He said, and Sora shrugged.

“Okay, I guess. Food sounds good, and I'd really like to get some clothes that fit- like I said, these ones are super uncomfortable now. Who's Yen Sid?” Sora asked, fidgeting with the fit of his jumpsuit.

“Yen Sid is a retired keyblade master.” Ventus said. Sora stumbled over his own feet again, looking shocked.

“Wait, there's more than one? Or- wait, two, I guess…” Sora looked confused. Ventus felt confused.

“ _One_ keyblade? Anyone with enough strength of heart can manifest a keyblade. Someone who has a keyblade bequeathed to them can also use a keyblade. See?” Ventus summoned Lost Memory. Sora bounced, looking excited, and summoned his own keyblade in a fit of excitement. Ventus choked.

“What's wrong?” Sora asked, glancing between Ventus and his keyblade.

“That- that's the Kingdom Key of Light.” he said blankly.

“The wha?” Sora asked, equally confused.

“What, like King Mickey’s Key of Darkness? Come to think of it, that's keyblade is kind of an inverse color scheme. Same shape, too.” Riku said. Ventus felt a bit weak, leaning into Lea’s supportive grasp. Isa looked concerned.

“Yes, probably. The Kingdom Key of Light and the Kingdom Key of Darkness… this is bad.”

“Why is it bad? Me and King Mickey closed the door of Kingdom Hearts with them!” Sora said defensively. Ventus shook his head, desperate to make his nephew see.

“That might be the case, but if someone else were to get hold of them- like Xehanort- they could use them to _open_ Kingdom Hearts, don't you see? It's _dangerous_ .” For a brief, hysterical moment, Ventus realized that this must be how Aqua had felt _all the time_ , dealing with the two of them. He resolved to give her a heartfelt apology when he saw her again. “Additionally, the Kingdom Keys aren't anyone's personal keyblades. They're the worlds’ keyblades, if that makes sense. So it should have gone back to your keyblade when you were done using it.” Ventus bit his lip, trying to work it out.

“But it's always looked like this.” Sora said. Ventus breathed deeply.

“That's- it shouldn't have. You have a unique keyblade, but if you've always used the Kingdom Key, I guess you've never awakened it. Okay.” Ventus stood up straight, stepping away from Lea. “There's a technique I can use to let you reach into your heart and awaken your keyblade. It's called a Deep Dive. It lets you peer inside your heart, face what troubles you, your inner darkness, inner imbalance, whatever, and then voila! Keyblade. Well, if you had the potential already, I mean.” He smiles brightly, then glances to Riku. “You have any problems with your keyblade, while I'm at it?” He joked, chuckling a little. Riku looked at him blankly.

“I- I don't have a keyblade. I was able to use Sora’s, but…” he looked distinctly uncomfortable. Ventus blinked, then sighed.

“Have you tried summoning it?” Ventus asked softly. Riku nodded, stretching out his hand and summoning- a tangle of darkness and a corrupt blade.

“All I can get is Soul Eater,” Riku mumbled uncomfortably, dismissing it again.

“Well, I guess I'm going to have to help you both through a Deep Dive. My master made me go through mine by myself, but I think it would be safer if I went with you. Or tried to, at least.” Ventus nodded, smiling. Riku looked painfully uncertain.

“Do you really think I can?” He asked softly. Ventus nodded, squeezing his shoulder.

“I can feel it, you feel a lot like Terra.”

“Was Terra- did he have brown hair? Tall? Dark blue eyes?” Riku frowned intently. Ventus nodded. “I think- we met once. When I was just a little kid. And he let me touch his keyblade- ah!” Riku flushed brightly. “N-not like that!” He hastened to clarify, his voice cracking spectacularly. “I was like, five. He had me recite something, about taking the key and becoming the champion?” Riku was clearly trying to remember. Ventus grinned.

“Sounds like you went through the proper inheritance ceremony!” He chirped. “Well, hey, is this place safe? Naminé?” He twisted around and sought the small, slight girl out. Naminé looked surprised to be noticed, which tugged at Ventus’s heartstrings. He didn't regret a single word he'd said to that Ansem character. Although- that reminded him. “Sora, this is Naminé, she put your memories back together.” He introduced, and blithely ignored Naminé’s guilty look.

“Wow, thanks Naminé!” Sora chirped, and she flushed.

“I- I did it in the first place, it was my responsibility to help you recover.” She murmured, hands clasped in front of her.

“Hey, you were under extreme duress. Any actions performed by a minor under extreme duress aren't your fault.” Lea squeezed Naminé’s shoulder briefly. She glanced up at him with grateful eyes.

“I'm not really sure what just happened, but he's right! And even if he wasn't, it's still okay, because you fixed me anyway!” Sora said brightly. Naminé smiled, soft and sort of tremulous.

“Thank you. But we should go, I don't know how much longer this place will remain secure.” She said softly. “The Organization is probably looking for all of us right now, given… circumstances.” Ventus sighed. She had a point.

“All right. Naminé, Riku, do you have anything you need to pack up and take with you?” He asked. They left to go do that, Sora tagging along behind Riku, arms crossed behind his head and chattering a mile a minute. Isa, Lea and Ventus waited by the front door, Goofy and Donald a few steps away, arguing about something. Transportation, by the sound of it.

“He really does remind me of myself,” Ventus sighed wistfully. “Before everything happened. When it was just me and Aqua and Terra.” He scrubbed at his eyes, and a warm hand landed on his shoulder.

“We'll find them. We'll find all of them,” Isa promised him softly. Ventus smiled, still a bit teary-eyed.

“Thank you,” he twisted around and hugged the stoic man. Isa hesitated for a moment and then returned the hug.

“Oooh! Group hug!” Sora shrieked from behind them- apparently Riku hadn't had much to pack. He dragged Riku in too, and quickly afterward Goofy and Donald piled on. Ventus laughed brightly, tears forgotten.

“Well, if it's a group hug! Come on, Naminé,” Lea coaxed as he draped his lanky self over the pile of them, snuggled up behind Isa. She giggled, and joined in. Ventus basked in the warmth for a few long moments, then broke them up.

“There's a train at the station that will take us to Master Yen Sid’s tower.” He told them. Goofy looked curious.

“Gawrsh, is that the same Master Yen Sid that the King trained with?” He asked.

“Yes, I believe so. Like I said earlier, he's a retired keyblade Master, and he's agreed to help.” Ventus nodded.

“What?! Does that mean King Mickey is a keyblade master?” Donald squawked.

“Uh, yes?” Ventus blinked, confused. “Is that not… common knowledge?” he glanced between everyone. Riku looked as startled as himself. “I don't know if he passed his Mark of Mastery, but he does wield a keyblade. He calls it Star Seeker.” Riku frowned slightly.

“So the Key of Darkness- no, you said they were both the Worlds’ keyblades.” He murmured to himself. Ventus was a bit worried. If Mickey was just wandering around with the Kingdom Key of Darkness, that was dangerous. But, he guessed he couldn't just seal it inside his heart, it was, by its very nature, a piece of darkness.

With those troubling thoughts brewing in his mind, they returned to the train station, and boarded Yen Sid’s magical construct. It was amazing, to Ventus, that Yen Sid could link his world to others like this, with the power of his Keyblade.

Once they were there, Yen Sid gave Riku and Sora an impromptu lecture on heartless, nobodies, and the Organization. Then they went to see the fairies, who outfitted Sora in baggy cargo shorts with more buckles and straps than Ventus thought really necessary, a sleeveless shirt with a belly pocket, and a short, hooded jacket, all in black, dark blue, red, and yellow.

“What about you, Riku?” Sora asked when they were done. Riku sighed, stripping out of his coat to reveal worn, baggy blue jeans, sneakers, and two layered vests, one black, the other white and yellow. A wide, loose white sweatband covered his wrist.

“I've got clothes,” he pointed out. The fairies fussed and clucked until he let them enchant his outfit, egged on by Sora. They left his blindfold alone.

“Why are you wearing a blindfold, anyway?” Sora asked. Riku fidgeted awkwardly with the thin strip of black fabric, then sighed.

“It's easier to control the darkness if I handicap myself,” he admitted softly. Sora hugged him tightly. After that, it was food. Ventus was a little awestruck to see how much food they all managed to pack away.

“Where do you even put it all, you beanpole?” He poked at Lea’s skinny arms. Lea rolled his eyes.

“My metabolism is, as GiGi often complained, _too_ efficient sometimes.” He shrugged. “Reno’s the same way, so it's definitely genetic.”

“Hey, so are we gonna do that diving thing now?” Sora asked curiously. Ventus shook his head.

“Not today. Get a good night's sleep, okay? We'll do it in the morning, before breakfast. Sounds good?”

“Yeah, sure.” Riku nodded.

Ventus went back to the room he had stayed in last time, pleased to see that there were now clothes- simple, unenchanted, multiple sizes. Black sweatpants, thick socks, gray tank tops and soft gray hoodies, good workout clothes. In another drawer were pajama pants, whimsically patterned with moogles, cactuars, and chocobos in a rainbow of colors, and white thermal shirts and tank tops. The last drawer had underwear, still in its packages, different styles, and even some for girls. Ventus guessed Yen Sid was stocking up for the long term.

He pulled out some green pajama pants and a tank top, went off the the bathroom to wash his face- the soap smelled like roses, very nice- and brush his teeth- new toothbrushes and toothpaste. He went back out and stared at the bed. It was a nice bed. Big, with crisp white sheets, a dark blue, quilted comforter patterned with yellow stars and moons, and a solid dark wood headboard and footboard. Comfortable. Inviting.

So why was he so hesitant? He paused, and then backtracked out of the room to knock timidly at the one Lea and Isa had claimed. Lea answered the door, pulling a tank top over his head, dressed in a red version of the pajamas.

“‘Sup, Sunshine? Something you forget?” He asked, and Ventus jerked his gaze up from where he'd accidentally been staring at the curve of his hipbones.

“Ah- no, I'm just-” Ventus mentally flailed for a moment. “I- could I stay here? With you?” He blurted out in a rushed mumble. Lea’s smile melted into something softer, fonder.

“‘Course you can, Sunshine. Nightmares?” He shepherded Ventus in gently, with a hand on his lower back. Ventus tried desperately not to flush, not that it was usually noticeable with his skin color. Isa came out of the bathroom and glanced over.

“Joining us, Ven?” He asked, the picture of unconcerned by this development.

“If that's okay,” he murmured. Isa smiled at him, small, but kind.

“Of course.” Isa also seemed to have chosen the yellow version of the pajama pants.

Ventus slept well.

Morning came too soon. Ventus stumbled up and changed into some of the workout clothes in his room, then shuffled out yawning and knocked on Sora’s and Riku’s doors. At some point during the night, nameplates had appeared, their names spelled in bubbly letters on little yellow-painted wooden stars. Lea and Isa fit onto the same star, but his own name was posted on the door of the room he'd initially stayed in. The boys both stumbled out of Riku’s room. Sora wore red pajamas, and Riku purple.

“Why do we gotta do this so early?” Sora covered a jaw-cracking yawn. Riku looked blearily around, seeming vaguely confused by consciousness.

“Early bird gets the worm, and all that shit?” Ventus offered, shrugging and covering a yawn of his own. “Come on, go get changed into some workout clothes.” They did so, Sora vanishing back into the room with his name on it. When they emerged, they looked no more awake. “Let's find a training room.” They found one a level down, a clean, open space with one mirrored wall, a barre, and soft mats covering the floor in a patchwork of yellow and blue.

“Does somebody do ballet?” Sora wondered, looking at the barre. Ventus shrugged.

“Maybe he just wanted to be prepared? They're useful for flexibility and balance exercises. Plus, ballet is a really intense workout just as is, you know. Ballet dancers are amazing athletes, as well as wonderful performers.” He shrugged again. “So, warm up exercises! Let's go.” He led them through a pretty easy routine. Then he looked between them. They both seemed much more awake now.

“Okay, Who’s going first? The one not doing a Deep Dive with me gets to do some basic exercises with their keyblade, I'll show you the forms, and no slacking off!” He warned.

“I can make sure they don't,” Isa strode in, also clad in workout clothes. Ventus showed them the forms and had them run them, while Isa got warmed up.

“So, pick a person.” Ventus said, and the two looked at each other, then played rock-paper-scissors for it.

“Scissors beats paper!” Riku said, only a bit smug. Sora pouted, before Isa ushered him over to the mirrored half of the room. Ventus turned to Riku.

“Do you know how to meditate?” He asked, and Riku nodded. They sat, facing each other. “Okay, meditate. I'll guide you through the drop.”

It took a while, but Ventus felt the fall. Dreamy and slow, as time seemed to shiver and stop.

He opened his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're worried about Sora remembering being Xion, that gets addressed next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Long one! But I'm using re: connect as part of my NaNoWriMo word count, so expect a couple more chapters like this. :)

Riku opened his eyes, and stared around them, awestruck. They were on a vast, black platform, in a nebulous, hazy space. He took a step forward, and shielded his face as the blackness bled away into a flock of fleeing ravens, revealing himself in stained glass, muted bluish shades. He looked asleep, sort of. Around him were round panels depicting Sora, Kairi, and King Mickey.

“What is this place?” He asked, voice sounding small in the vastness of the place.

“Welcome to the stained glass cathedral of your heart.” Riku turned, and Ventus was smiling at him. Riku felt a strange fluttering in his chest, and flushed. Luckily, Ventus had turned slightly, gazing down at the floor. Did- did he have a  _ crush _ ? On  _ Sora’s uncle _ ?! “Shall we go, Riku? You should be able to know which way, and how to get there, if you listen to your heart.” Riku breathed through his embarrassment and tucked it away, closing his eyes and resting his hand over his heart.

“Down,” he murmured, opening his eyes. He wasn't wearing his blindfold here, though he'd pushed it up onto his forehead for most of the exercising, too sleepy to really care. He stepped to the edge of the platform, and a spiraling downward staircase appeared, made of stained glass panels that gradated from pale blue at the top to darker blues at the bottom, as they descended. 

The second platform was a picture of himself on one side, facing forward, a keyblade that looked like Soul Eater extended to the middle, where it crossed with a familiar blade. A brown haired man stood on the other side of the image, facing away, holding the second blade.

“Terra,” Ventus whispered, crouching to stroke his stained-glass hair. Riku smiled softly.

“Is this… what my keyblade is supposed to look like?” Riku asked, kneeling and running his fingers along the image of the weapon. The white wings made him think of hope, and a warmth suffused his heart.

“Yes, I think so. This is Ends of the Earth, after all.” Ventus stroked the image of Terra’s keyblade. “When we set out, he had Earthshaker. I guess… so much happened to us that we grew up, and our keyblades grew up with us.” He chuckled, and is was a soft, hollow sound. Riku coughed awkwardly. 

“Were you close- I mean, was he your boyfriend?” He asked softly. Ventus looked up, clearly surprised.

“What? No, he was more like a brother. A role model, definitely. I wanted to be him, when I grew up. He was so cool. He was about four years older than me, nineteen.” Ventus stood, shaking out his shoulders. “Come on, then. Let's press on.” Riku nodded, leading them to another downward staircase, and this time the broad steps gradated from dark blue to bruised purple. Riku paused on the bottom step, a deep sense of foreboding echoing through his bones. Ventus set a warm hand on his shoulder, and they looked, together.

On the last platform- and Riku knew it was the last, somehow- Riku hung, suspended.

Below him was Ansem’s heartless, with a clawing grip on his legs, dragging him down into the bruised darkness. 

But above Riku, grasping his outstretched, pleading arms, were his friends. Sora, Kairi- even Mickey. Raising him up into the light. Riku’s eyes pricked with tears and he rubbed at them furiously. Ventus squeezed his shoulder gently.

“Is this it? You should be ready to fight, Riku. If that's your darkness.” In a flash of light his keyblade was in hand, and he pointed to the shadows, where Ansem’s heartless was emerging from the floor. Riku’s heart jumped into double time. “I won't interfere, unless it looks like you're losing. Go on, Riku. I believe in you.” Riku nodded, stepping forward, calling Soul Eater to hand.

Soul Eater did not come.

He panicked, dodging out of the way as a ball of dark fire flew for his head. As he righted, he summoned a Barrier to block another. The fire glanced off of it as he charged a spell of his own in his free hand. Riku launched the attack but it seemed to do little to the hovering figure. He tried again to summon Soul Eater as he sprinted out of the way of the Dark Guardian. Its claws rent the air behind him while he skidded to a stop.

In his hand was a weapon that at first glance looked like Soul Eater, but at second glance, it was the keyblade he'd seen in the second platform.

He had little time beyond that to ponder as Ansem’s Heartless flashed towards him. The blade had a longer reach than before, which made parrying the next flurry of attacks easier. He avoided the Dark Guardian again, sliding beneath it and the heartless. He flipped to his feet when he launched another wave of dark fire. Riku’s attack connected and sent Ansem’s heartless reeling back. Seizing his opening, he charged in, stabbing the two through the chest before withdrawing and slashing through their heads. Wispy black smoke seeped from the wounds as Riku landed on his feet. With a final, withering glare, Ansem’s heartless disappeared.

“Good job,” Ventus said softly, and the platform glimmered, the image shifting. Ansem’s heartless was no longer grasping him, but falling away as Riku was lifted up.

The last thing Riku saw before everything shattered into light and he fell, up up up, was Ventus’s smile, as bright and precious as Sora’s.

* * *

Ventus opened his eyes and groaned softly, his legs cramped up. He stumbled to his feet and stretched out properly, as Riku did the same. Sora bounded over to them, eyes bright.

“Did it work?” He asked breathlessly. “Do you have a keyblade now?” Riku grinned, pulling off the blindfold fully and shoving it in a pocket. He held out his hand, and in a flash of light his keyblade appeared. Sora’s eyes went wide. “Wow, Riku! Does it have a name?” He pressed gently. Riku closed his eyes briefly, and then looked horribly embarrassed.

“Ah- yes. It's- The Way to the Dawn. It's something- ugh, something dumb I said once. You weren't there.” He said, and Sora pouted.

“What do you mean, I wasn't there?” He exclaimed, comedically upset, and Ventus smiled, turning away as the two boys play fought. Isa smiled at him when he stepped over.

“How long did we take?” Ventus asked, and Isa looked at the clock above the door. 

“Just about half an hour? How are you going to get Sora to sit still that long?” Isa asked, definitely curious. “He's full of energy, even after we ran drills.” Ventus shrugged.

“There's a seated moving meditation that will probably work. It's what Xehanort had me do, and for all his faults, he was a decent teacher for the first year or two.” Ventus shifted uncomfortably, extremely unsettled by his own statement. Isa squeezed his shoulder gently. “It shouldn't even take as long as it took me, I'll be there to guide him.” Isa smiled, and it made Ventus feel warm as he smiled back, suddenly shy. Ventus let the kids roughhouse a little more, checking with Isa to see how Sora had done with his drills. Pretty good, as it turned out, but he did have some focus issues. It was pretty much what Ventus had expected, and he wondered where he could find the two of them a good psychiatrist. 

“All right, break’s over. I want to be done by breakfast, after all!” Ventus said brightly. “Riku, you're with Isa now. Sora, come on. Do you know how to meditate?” He checked. Sora fidgeted, shaking his head, shamefaced. “Hey, it's okay, Sora. I get it, I really do. I've got something that might work a bit better for you, hopefully.” Ventus smiled, and they sat, facing each other. Sora fidgeted. 

“So, how do we do this? I mean, moving meditation, while we're sitting down?” Sora asked, and Ventus grinned.

“Ever play any clapping games as a kid? It's kind of like that. Except I want you to focus all of your attention on the act of moving, and that should get us into the proper trancelike state for a Dive, okay?” He showed Sora the slow, measured movements, and helped him count off his breathing. It took longer than Riku had, but that was fine, he'd been expecting that. 

They Dove, Ventus once more slipping into the gentle, dreamy fall.

* * *

Sora opened his eyes, touching down gently on a wide white platform, hand in hand with Ventus. He stepped forward and jumped in surprise when the floor burst into a flock of white birds. Doves? They definitely weren't seagulls. Ventus squeezed his hand lightly. Then Sora registered where they were.

“Hey, I've been here before!” He exclaimed, excited, grinning at his uncle. Ventus looked confused. 

“Wait, you've been through a Deep Dive before?” He asked, and Sora nodded.

“It was right before the storm! I was taking a nap, and I thought it was a dream! There was a voice, that talked me through everything, and then I had a keyblade! Wait- was that you, Uncle Ven?” He asked curiously. 

“No, I- I don't remember it, at least.” He replied, looking bewildered. 

“Really? Because I never really heard the voice, it was like it was speaking straight into my mind. Weird, I guess.” Sora was just as bewildered as his uncle, and he was the one it had happened to! He refocused, looking around. “Hey, the floor is different!” He said, surprised. Ventus looked down too. He was front and center of the image, arms outstretched and eyes closed, wearing his cool new outfit. Around him were seven round panels, and the seven Princesses of Heart smiled up at him, frozen in glass imagery.

“What did they look like the first time?” Ventus asked. Sora thought back.

“The first platform was a picture of Snow White, and probably all of her friends. I didn't get to meet her before her world fell into the darkness, so I just met her in Hollow Bastion, when I was trying to stop Ansem from opening Kingdom Hearts.” Sora mused. Ventus blinked, and it looked like he wanted to ask, but he didn't.

“I met Snow White, too. In her world, before it fell to the darkness, I guess.” Ventus said softly. “She was really scared, so I helped her out.” Sora beamed up at him.

“That's awesome! Let's see, the next platform was… Cinderella! I didn't get to see her world, either. Did you?” Sora asked.

“I did! I was the size of a mouse, it was so weird!” Ventus laughed. Sora’s eyes grew wide.

“No way! I've changed form before, but never size! That's really weird!” He exclaimed. Ventus nodded.

“It was,  _ so _ weird. But I helped her friend Jaq finish her dress for the ball, while her awful stepmother and stepsisters kept her busy all day, so it was okay.” Ventus grinned at the memory. Sora’s uncle was the  _ best _ , wow. “What was next?”

“Um, a platform with three heart shapes, with silhouettes in them.” Sora thought, crossing his arms. “You know,” he said slowly. “I think they were supposed to represent Alice, Jasmine, and Kairi, now that I think about it. It makes sense.” Ventus looked at him curiously. “The platforms were all the seven Princesses of Heart. Like here, see?” He made a sweeping motion indicating the general platform area. Ventus frowned. 

“That's not how it should be. From my admittedly limited experience, it should be scenes and people that affected your life.” Ventus rested a hand on a hip, staring with confusion around him. “Then again, your first Deep Dive granted you the Kingdom Key of Light, so there's no telling if it was typical or not.” He sighed. “So your other platforms, they were the last two Princesses?” Sora nodded.

“Aurora and then Belle. Did you see their worlds?” 

“I think I visited Aurora’s. She’d had her heart stolen by an evil fairy who lived in a huge, half fallen down castle. I think her name was Maleficent or something like that. I helped, I think, get her heart back? I'm not sure. Aqua showed up afterwards and tried to convince me to go back home, and that made me really mad.” Ventus looked really sheepish.

“Wait, those two are from the same world? Wow, that's kind of awful. It was Maleficent who was telling Riku all those awful things, getting him to fight me. Then he got possessed by Ansem.” Sora sighed. Ventus nodded.

“After we're done I think you and Riku really need to tell me everything that happened. I don't really remember any of this. Just fragments seen through your eyes, I think. Like a memory of a memory.” Ventus scrubbed his hands through his hair. “Come on. Where does your heart say we should go?” He asked, and Sora hesitated. Last time the platforms had broken under him, taking him to the next one. But that probably wasn't good. He closed his eyes briefly, before opening them with a grin, bounding forward. 

“This way, come on!” Steps appeared under his feet, a rainbow pathway up to the next platform. Ventus followed, and they ended up on a platform that depicted Sora, Kairi, and Riku as kids, all holding hands. From their feet, like shadows, or reflections, extended the images of Ventus, for Sora, a blue-haired woman for Kairi, and a brown-haired man for Riku.

“Terra and Aqua,” Ventus told him. “This might mean that your friend Kairi is Aqua’s successor.” Sora nearly tripped over air.

“Kairi has a keyblade?!” He squeaked. Ventus smiled, a touch mischievous.

“I said  _ might _ , Sora. I won't know until I meet her.” He teased, and Sora laughed. They proceeded, and the next platform bore an image of Sora and a black haired girl in a long black coat, hands clasped and facing each other, foreheads pressed together. Sora paused- she was so  _ familiar _ \- why?

“Xion,” Ventus said warmly, but he wasn't looking down. Sora looked up, and there was the girl, smiling shyly at them.

“You were right, Ventus,” She said, but then summoned the Kingdom Key. “Sora. It's nice to finally meet you. I'm Xion, and I'm you.” She said, and Sora blinked.

“I'm a girl?” He asked, genuinely bewildered. Xion blinked this time, and frowned slightly. 

“I'm a girl. But I am you, but you're a boy, and you're you too. Can't you be both?” She asked. “But come on, Sora. Fight me.” She invited, and Sora’s keyblade sprang to his hand. He smiled.

“Okay.” 

They clashed. Kingdom Key versus Kingdom Key, and it was almost like a dance, like Sora knew exactly where she would strike at any given moment. She seemed to know too, and they fought until Sora finally,  _ finally _ disarmed her. She laughed softly, stepping back.

“Good job.” She said softly, and Sora grinned. 

“You too!” He chirped, and she chuckled, summoning her keyblade back to her. Except- it was different. Spiky and contoured, black and white. “Is that- our keyblade?” He asked, stepping closer. He still held Kingdom Key, which was disappointing. She shook her head.

“No, this is my keyblade. The reflection of yours. When Ventus was Roxas, his Lost Memory turned into Oblivion. This- this is Two Become One.” Sora pouted, and Xion laughed. “You'll get it soon, Sora. But first, we have one last thing left to do. There's darkness in our heart, Sora, and if we don't do anything about it, we're vulnerable. Someone could try to use us, like Maleficent and Ansem used Riku. So come on. We have to acknowledge this weakness, so that nobody can use it against us.” She held out her hand, and Sora took it without hesitation, even as he reeled from the revelation. 

“I guess, it makes sense. You can't have light without darkness… except if you're a Princess of Heart, I guess. Wait, how does that work?” He asked, frowning crossly. Ventus and Xion both laughed.

“The Princesses of Heart- the Seven Pure Lights, some call them. They're an exception to a lot of rules, Sora, don't feel bad. I don't really get it. I was once a being of pure light, and it hurt, so badly. I was in constant pain, because I wasn't born like that. My teacher tore me in half to try to do something terrible. So yeah. I don't know how they do it either.” Ventus told him, and he grabbed his uncle’s hand with his free one. 

“That's awful. He's awful. Want me and Riku to beat him up for you?” He asked, totally serious. Ventus smiled and ruffled his hair. 

“We'd have to find him first. And Xion says you're not done here.” He reminded, and Sora nodded, glancing at the girl who was also him. 

“Right. Come on, Xion.” He nodded, resolved to face this, like he faced everything. 

“I'll be here, if you two need me. But I won't interfere unless it looks like there's no other way.” Ventus told them as they climbed up another spiralling rainbow staircase. 

“Right.” Sora nodded, and glanced around the newest platform. He was front and center again, which kept being weird and kind of embarrassing. But bright golden chains wrapped around him to encircle the round panels filled with familiar and unfamiliar faces. Donald and Goofy in one, King Mickey in another. Riku, Kairi, and Xion in individual circles, and Ventus, Terra, and Aqua in their own. Yen Sid, mom and dad, Lea and Isa, in three more. An old man with golden eyes that gave Sora the chills. Ventus let go of his hand, Lost Memory springing to him.

“Why is Xehanort here?” His voice sounded raspy and awful, and he looked sick. Xion shook her head.

“We are the chains that connect everyone. We have met everyone, and they have influenced us in ways we might not yet understand.” She said, looking soft and lost and sad. Sora held her hand tighter.

“You'd think I'd remember meeting that guy.” He joked shakily. Ventus looked grim. 

“He's a master manipulator. You can't trust him an inch, promise me, Sora.” Ventus said, his words tripping over themselves coming out of his mouth. Sora nodded, worried. 

“I won't. I promise.” He said, and Ventus stepped back, nodding with a shaky little smile.

“Thank you. I'm sorry,” he murmured. Xion tugged Sora forward, and together they stepped onto the platform. Darkness swirled like a pool over the image on the floor, and Sora held his ground, trying not to remember how it felt to sink into cloying, awful darkness. He and Xion summoned their keyblades in unison, shifting so they were more back to back. 

The shadows shifted, and from the darkness rose-

Himself. But as if he'd been dipped in shadows. As if he was a heartless, his- its- eyes round and glowing golden in its face. He suppressed a shudder of pure revulsion, and tightened his grip on his keyblade.

“We are not ruled by darkness, Sora. We will prevail.” Xion said, but he didn't dare take his eyes off the heartless-him. “This is your true antithesis, not me. This is your Anti, Sora.” Anti-Sora. That fit, really well. 

It raced forward with scything claws and they dodged two different directions. It was okay, though, because somehow he knew where she would strike, and how to make sure she wasn't hit when she did. Xion covered him in much the same way. It was good. 

Together, working in concert, they subdued the Anti-Sora. It wasn't an easy fight, by any means- his other self was feral and reckless, completely out of control, it seemed. Terrifying. That he could become something like that didn't bear thinking of. 

As he fought, Kingdom Key shifted in his hands, until he held a winged hilt, the teeth of his key bright blue and gold, the shaft white and gold. The keychain dangling from the end a heartening, familiar shape.

Sora stood, struggling for breath, facing the dark version of himself. The Anti-Sora stood there, placid, arms hanging loose by its sides. Sora leveled his new keyblade at it.

“You don't rule me. Ever.” He vowed, and it sank away, into the darkness, which swirled away, clearing up. “Xion? Xion where did you go?” He called, looking around for her.

I'm always with you, silly. I am you.

“But Xion-” 

No buts! It's the truth now. I'm here, and I'm you. You're me. We are. So go, live our life. I'll always be here.

“Okay…” Sora drooped, and Ventus rested a hand on his shoulder. 

“It's okay. I understand.” He murmured, as the world shattered to light around them.

* * *

“Hey, you're back! How'd it go?” Riku broke form and jogged over, and Isa followed. That had taken longer than Riku’s, and Isa had been just starting to get worried. Nearly forty five minutes had passed already, and they were just now stirring. At this rate, they'd be late for breakfast. Isa’s stomach growled softly, even as he gave Ventus a hand up, resisting the urge to bury his nose in soft golden curls.

“How  _ did _ it go?” He asked. “You were in there a lot longer that time. Is everything okay?” 

“Yep!” Sora chirped, reaching his hand out in a motion that was quickly becoming very familiar to Isa. With a flash of light, his keyblade appeared, and it suited him, in Isa’s opinion. Better than the Kingdom Key of Light had, anyway. “This is Oathkeeper!” Riku smiled.

“It suits you. Wanna go?” He asked, a sparkle in his eye as he summoned Way to the Dawn. Ventus laughed.

“After breakfast, guys. Come on, I'm starving.” He encouraged, and both Riku and Sora vanished their blades.

“Uncle Ven has a good point.” Sora said, and Riku rubbed at his stomach. Isa concurred.

“Indeed. Come on, let's go eat. Then we can decide what to do next, as a group.” Isa proposed. Ventus nodded. 

“That's a good idea. Also, you two. I want a full story, okay? Of what happened to you after the Islands fell.” He pointed at Riku and Sora. They chorused agreement, and they all tripped out to breakfast, meeting up with Naminé, Lea, Goofy, and Donald. Yen Sid had yet show up have an actual meal with them. Goofy, Donald, Sora, and Riku told everyone of their first misadventure, and then Lea and Naminé told the story of Castle Oblivion and Sora’s long sleep.

That story was clearly news to Sora, and seemed to greatly trouble him. It was a difficult thing to swallow, that a year of your life had been sapped away. Isa glanced over at Ventus, checking in, and the older Valerius looked tired. Sad and worn.

“So what will you- will  _ we _ do next?” Naminé asked softly, fingers tented together. Isa smiled, a ghostly little thing.

“I think… I think it's time to go home, Naminé.” Ventus said quietly. She smiled softly.

“Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHO WANTS TO GO TO DESTINY ISLANDS!?!
> 
> Riku and Sora sure don't, because they're in SO MUCH TROUBLE.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Are you ready for emotional reunions? Because they're ready for you!!!!

Riku and Sora were noticeably reluctant to go back to Destiny Islands, and honestly, Lea didn't blame them. His own disappearance was one thing- their world had fallen to the darkness, and he and Isa had been at ground zero. There was no _way_ they were escaping, and they'd been keeping a subtle ear out for any mention of Radiant Garden or their families. But Riku and Sora had had the opportunity to return, when Destiny Islands had returned from the darkness, and they hadn't taken it. Sure they had reasons, most notably Sora’s pseudo coma, but at the same time, their parents had to be worried sick. Ventus also looked nervous, but he was definitely resolved to go and reunite with his brother.

Lea wished he could reunite with _his_ brother. But he still hadn't heard anything of Reno, like Isa hadn't heard anything of his own massive family.

Naminé looked nervous too, and Lea took the chance to get her on her own.

“Hey Naminé. You don't look like you're doing so hot.” He said, and she smiled weakly.

“I'm worried that I'll simply cease to be when I rejoin Kairi. I'm not a typical nobody, Lea, I'm the nobody of a Princess of Heart. I barely have enough substance to stay whole. I'm a shade, a sham, even more than any of you were.” She said, and Lea sighed, seeing tears threatening at the corners of pale eyes. He telegraphed his motions, giving her ample time to step away before hugging her gently, marveling that she would take even this scrap of affection from _him_. He should have tried to help her more.

“If Xion, who wasn't even a ‘real’ nobody to start with, can be remembered, then why can't you, Naminé? Sora and Ventus still remember Roxas and Xion, hell, Sora extracted a promise from me not two hours ago that I'd buy the ice cream next time, because he did it last. Maybe their memories are a little fuzzy and unclear, but they still have them, you know?” He told her softly. She breathed deeply, her face pressed against his belly, and nodded, stepping away.

“You're right. I'm being silly.” She said softly, and he gave her a helpless little smile.

“It's okay to be scared, and it's not silly, Naminé. But we're here for you, all of us.” He assured her.

“Are y'all ready? The gummi ship is ready to go!” Goofy’s voice startled them out of their awkward heart to heart. Hah. Hearts. Lea grabbed his duffel bag and Naminé picked up her little white satchel.

“Come on, Naminé,” he muttered awkwardly, and squeezed her chilly, small hand when she slipped it into his. Why didn't she have warmer clothes? Her hand felt like ice.

The gummi ship was a tight squeeze, since it was really only built for three people. Most of them ended up in the sleeping bunks, piled together slightly awkwardly. Lea snuggled into Isa’s side with a sigh, wrapping an arm around Naminé when she shyly sat beside him.

“Anyone else feeling kind of weird letting the kid fly the gummi ship?” He asked dryly. Ventus chuckled, and Isa heaved a familiar, longsuffering sigh.

“It's not like we had a lot of options.” Ventus pointed out. “Donald, Goofy, and Sora are the only ones who can fly a gummi ship, and apparently Goofy is the best navigator, and Donald has road rage, and is best suited to the gunner’s position. So really, that leaves us with Sora flying this thing.” Ventus shrugged, and Riku groaned softly beside him, looking mildly ill. Ventus patted his back gently and Riku contrived to look flushed _and_ sick. Cute. Riku seemed to have a puppy crush on Ventus.

The flight wasn't too bad, and Riku only spent half of it in the tiny bathroom being miserably sick. Poor kid. Nobody else turned out to be airsick, and Lea resolved to buy some ginger candy and dramamine, if he could find it. They arrived, and beamed down to a remote location in groups, because the ship's transporter, like the ship, was only designed to handle three.

Riku and Sora looked incredibly nervous, and Ventus slipped between them, catching their hands in his.

“Come on. If it makes you feel any better, I'm probably in more trouble than you are,” he chuckled. Sora laughed softly, rubbing the back of his head.

“Kinda, yeah. The house is this way.” Sora started forward, and the field they had landed in was apparently part of the back yard, but at the same time, all of their back yards. They slipped around the house, Ventus remarking softly that they'd never moved, before they stood awkwardly in front of the door.

“...should we knock?” Riku muttered. Sora looked at him helplessly.

“I don't know. I usually just go in! But I've been gone for like almost two years now, what if they call the police? Uncle Ven?” He asked, fidgeting nervously. Ventus shrugged helplessly. Lea sighed, shouldering between them to ring the doorbell. Honestly, if those three bled out any more nervous anxiety, they'd be swimming in it. Isa probably already had a headache from it.

“Yes, hello? Can I help you?” A woman opened the door, a woman with Sora’s thick brown hair and open, honest face, though her eyes were a much darker blue.

“H- hi mom,” Sora said weakly, and Lea stepped aside. The woman dropped the pen she was holding, her eyes going wide and filling with tears.

“Sora!” She cried, darting forward to catch him into a tight hug. A crash and running footsteps heralded the fact that Caelum was also at home, and he slammed up against the doorframe, staring with wide, disbelieving eyes.

“Sora!” He yelped, catching up both his wife and his son in a crushing embrace. He buried his face in Sora’s hair, and Lea suspected he was also crying.

Caelum Valerius looked eerily like his younger brother, though his sunshine-golden curls were worn long and pulled back into a ponytail. They had the same face, and the same brilliant, big blue eyes, though Caelum looked more careworn and older. They were even of a similar height. Poor Sora was unlikely to ever get very tall, because his mother was also pretty short. Lea glanced at Ventus, who looked very hesitant to interfere, and rolled his eyes. Did he have to do everything around here?

“‘Scuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Valerius? There's someone else here you ought to see.” He said, catching Ventus’s shoulders in his hands when he thought the blond might rabbit on him. Caelum looked up first, and he looked as though he had been smacked with a dead fish.

“V- Ventus?” He asked, hoarse and disbelieving, and he _was_ crying. His wife looked up too at that, equally disbelieving. Lea didn't have a chance to step out of the way before Caelum clutched Ventus, and him by proximity, into a bone-creakingly tight hug. Well, this was awkward. He carefully wormed his way free. Caelum’s wife didn't join the hug, just watching with tearful eyes, a firm arm around Sora’s shoulders. Lea sidled up to Riku.

“So, kiddo, which one is your house? If you need me to knock for you,” he said dryly. Riku shot him a panicky look, and Caelum’s wife looked over. Jeez, he really needed to get a name out of her.

“Riku!” She exclaimed, and turned to across the street. Of course these two dorks lived across the street from each other. “Ren! Tsubame! Riku’s back!” She shrieked, and well, that was where Sora got his volume, then, because Caelum and Ventus were just sort of mumbling at each other through sobs.

Two women crashed out of what was presumably Riku’s house, one small and chubby, with soft blue curls and warm black eyes, the other taller and muscled like a heavy worker, with Riku’s silver hair and pale green eyes.

“ _Riku_!” They shouted in unison, running across the street to the teenager to engulf him in a hug, voices raised in equal parts tearful joy and worried upset. Lea glanced around. Lots of people were glancing out of windows- was it the weekend? Because it didn't seem to be late enough for just got home from work. Lea needed to get his hands on a calendar.

“Uh, hey, Mrs. Valerius? I'm Lea Sinclair. Maybe we should move this inside?” He said, slightly awkwardly. She looked up at him, initially surprised, but then glanced around.

“You're right. Please, call me Hikari.” She said, before shepherding everyone inside. Which was good, because Caelum gave Ventus a short shake by the shoulders, a brief expression of grieving anger.

“I thought you were _dead_ , Ventus!” He suddenly yelled. Ventus smiled shakily.

“I'm sorry, Caelum, I love you. I was stupid, and I know I was.” He choked out, and Lea could practically _feel_ the rumors starting up as they all filed into the Valerius family home.

Soon they were all piled into the living room, arranged on different bits of furniture, in awkward silence. Isa cleared his throat delicately.

“It occurs to me that introductions might be in order?” Isa pointed out, and the ice was officially broken. “I'm Isa Lécuyer, and this is Lea Sinclair.” Lea waved awkwardly.

“I'm Goofy, and this is Donald, a-hyuck!” Goofy followed, grinning with much more light spirits than Lea thought strictly necessary.

“I'm Naminé,” Naminé murmured, before ducking behind where Lea was perched on the arm of the armchair Isa was seated in. Lea put a gentle hand on her shoulders to comfort her.

“Well, I'm Ren Kusanagi, and this is my wife, Tsubame, we're Riku’s parents.” The small, blue-haired woman introduced. The taller woman, Tsubame, smiled and waved, but didn't remove her arm from around Riku’s shoulders. The kid’s face was bright red.

“Riku Kusanagi,” he muttered, looking unsure at the necessity of his introduction.

“Caelum Valerius, and this is my wife, Hikari.” Caelum offered, and Hikari smiled, dimples dipping her cheeks.

“I'm Sora Valerius!” Sora chirped from his position squashed between his parents.

“Ventus Valerius. I'm sorry about all the fuss.” Ventus said softly, holding Caelum’s hand tightly.

“I just want to know what _happened_ .” Tsubame offered roughly, swiping a hand over her eyes. “Also, Cae, since when do you have a _brother_ ? You have to be brothers, it would just be creepy otherwise.” She gave a soft, rusty-sounding laugh. “Also, I hope you know you're grounded until you're _forty_ , mister.” She squeezed Riku’s shoulders.

“I- I don't think I can really ground you anymore, you've been gone for so _long_ …” Caelum looked lost, and Ventus pressed his face into his brother’s shoulder, curling up against him.

“I'm sorry,” he choked, clinging. Hikari gave a wet chuckle.

“Well, Sora, you are also grounded until further notice,” she said, and Sora nodded, subdued. She hugged him tight. “I'm just so glad you're alive,” she whispered. Out of the blue, there was a frantic knocking at the door, before it burst open.

“It's me!” A girl’s voice called out, high and panicky. “Tell me the rumour mill is true for once!” She crashed into the room, all awkward limbs and red hair, and Naminé went stiff against Lea’s side. He rubbed her back soothingly. “Riku! Sora!” She cried joyfully.

“Kairi!” They both smiled back, looking immensely relieved and happy.

“Uncle, Auntie, I'm staying here tonight,” Kairi informed Hikari and Caelum. Then she seemed to realize there were other people in the room. “I mean, if you have the room,” she amended, looking around curiously. Her eyes lit on Naminé, and she looked confused.

“I- I know you. Don't I?” She asked, puzzled, stepping closer. Naminé took a deep breath and smiled, stepping away from Lea.

“You do. I _am_ you, Kairi. I'm your nobody- the empty shell that manifested when you lost your heart.” She reached out her hand, and Kairi took it automatically, looking shocked. “Thank you everyone, for everything,” Naminé murmured, looking around, eyes lingering on Lea with a warm smile. He nodded gently, smiling back, a bit teary eyed. Why was he getting emotional _now_? She smiled, and between one blink and the next, she was gone. Ren, Tsubame, Hikari, and Caelum all jumped, letting out a variety of swearwords and yelps.

“What the actual flying fuck was that?” Ren asked, having leapt to her feet. Riku caught her hand and tugged her back down.

“Easy, mom. That's… part of the explanation.” He murmured. She looked mutinous, which was an oddly effective expression, given that Ren looked so generally warm and wholesome. Lea gave her internal kudos for that. Kairi staggered slightly, and before he'd consciously realized he'd moved, Lea was steadying her.

“Got any more chairs?” He asked Hikari, smiling sort of awkwardly.

“Of course. Just a moment,” she said warmly, and darted out, returning with a rolling desk chair. She and Lea got Kairi to sit, and Lea returned to Isa’s side, curling as close as he could while still seated on the arm. Isa clasped Lea’s hand warmly, tangling their fingers together, pressing a brief kiss to Lea’s knuckles. It was weird- shouldn't he feel more broken up about Xion’s reintegration than Naminé’s?

Then again, he'd been there for Xion, in a way that he hadn't been for Naminé. Maybe it was the guilt speaking. But Xion had him and Roxas, steady and there, most of the time. Naminé had had, what? Him lurking at the edges, not really paying attention until someone got a little too handsy or harsh? An old man who didn't even believe she had the right to exist? Riku, for a while, which seemed like the only bright spot. He sighed softly, and shook his head when Isa caught his eye. Later.

“Explanations?” Hikari prompted, and Ventus breathed in a deep breath.

“Right. It starts, when I was eleven, and I ran away from home because of really stupid reasons.” Ventus starts, and Lea considers Ventus and Sora briefly, part of his brain listening and taking notes on things he didn't know. At Ventus’s age eleven, it was likely that Hikari had been either pregnant or just given birth, right? So it had to have been a young kid’s jealousy and resentment over the idea of being ‘replaced’. That happened, right? His parents had died when he was ten, so he wasn't really sure.

The explanation took literal hours, all of them speaking their own pieces. Then they had to field about a million questions, all of them relevant, but not all of them that they really had an answer for. It was, frankly, exhausting. It was a bit of a relief when Ren and Tsubame trooped out back to their own house, Riku in tow. Kairi hesitated for a long moment before following, saying she'd sleep over at theirs for tonight, since Hikari and Caelum had a full house. Goofy and Donald said that they would sleep on the gummi ship, and departed as well. That left them with himself, Isa, and Ventus. And, to be fair, they'd been sharing a bed anyway. Hikari looked doubtful.

“I think we could put someone on the couch?” She offered. Ventus smiled.

“Is it still just a twin bed in my old room?” He asked. Caelum shook his head.

“No, we upgraded to a king when we put all your old things up in the attic.” he said, looking a touch guilty. Ventus shook his head lightly.

“It's okay. You thought I was dead, I'm honestly surprised you kept any of it. But if it's a king, we can all share.” He offered kindly. Caelum looked surprised.

“Oh! If you're sure,” he said, a touch hesitantly. Lea squinted at him, puzzled. Did he think…? Ventus nodded easily.

“Don't worry about it!” Ventus said brightly. Hikari giggled, clapping her hands.

“So, who wants dinner? I think I've got enough to throw something together.” She said, and Caelum nodded, standing.

“I'll help,” he said, and they set to work like a well oiled machine as Ventus and Sora set the table and found more chairs.

“I feel like I ought to be helping too,” Lea commented, leaning in the doorway.

“Agreed,” Isa said, propping his chin on Lea’s shoulder and setting a hand on his hip. Lea basked in his warm bulk.

“Well, if you feel that bad about it. I guess you could do the dishes, after?” Caelum offered.

“Sounds good. It's a deal.” Lea quipped back.

Dinner was good. Lea and Isa chilled out reading in the bedroom, while the family had a long talk downstairs, quiet and full of tears. Lea wondered, staring out at the stars, how long it would be before they saw Reno and GiGi, Gamps, Isa’s parents, all of his cousins. Isa’s three little siblings; Fleur, precious, precocious, taking after GiGi, Gerben, loud and forever running after Isa and Lea, Jet, who didn't yet like spending time in human form, preferring the absolutely adorable wolf’s form. He sighed softly, and Isa wrapped his arms around his waist, kissing Lea’s neck. Lea tipped his head to give Isa more access.

“We'll find them, Lea,” he murmured, breath hot against Lea’s skin. Lea leaned against him, humming softly.

“How'd you know?” He murmured, turning his head to kiss the corner of Isa’s mouth. Isa smiled softly.

“I miss them too, and with everything that happened today- it was a safe assumption, given your expression.” Isa turned him around and curved warm hands around Lea’s cheeks, and Lea nuzzled into the touch.

“I miss them so badly, Isa…” he mumbled, and Isa kissed him, sweet and warm. Lea pressed tight against him, taking the comfort that was freely offered.

“Let's leave Ventus a note and go walking,” Isa suggested, and Lea nodded.

“That sounds good,” Lea sighed, smiling softly. They suited word to action and left by the window.

When they returned, it was easy to slip into bed after changing, bracketing Ventus so the small blond would sleep untroubled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~I'm not saying they had sex on the beach, but the 100% had sex on the beach. :)~~
> 
> ~~In the interests of keeping the story going, and the rating where it is, I will probably be posting director's cut erotic scenes in a separate story!~~
> 
>  
> 
> [ Now with a deleted sex scene!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13250598/chapters/30311376)


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short timeskip ahoy!
> 
> Also, for anyone interested in smut/sex/pornings, I've chosen to keep this story smut-free, so I've created a deleted scenes fic! [Currently the only chapter is a smutty Isa/Lea coda to Chapter 9, please check it out and tell me what you think if you're interested!](http://archiveofourown.org/works/13250598)

Ventus basked in the warm afternoon sunshine, breathing in the warm, sticky air of home. He'd never thought, as a child, that he'd miss the smell of coconut, sea air, and ripe paopu, but he had. They'd already been here a month, and it was really nice. 

Ventus knew it wouldn't last, though. There were too many things that still needed doing, after all. Lea and Isa were getting restless, and Ventus’s nightmares had been acting up, even with their companionship. Riku had been acting distant and worried, and Sora’s attention had been even more flighty, even as he eased back onto his medications.  _ (Ventus was glad he'd also been able to get back in with a doctor, that all of his old records had been preserved, and he too, got some necessary chemical supplementation.) _ Donald and Goofy were hardly around, always doing something or other on the gummi ship, organizing and updating flight charts, doing maintenance, calling home to check up on the situation there and talk to their loved ones.

At least they could talk to their loved ones. Yes, Ventus had his brother back, had Hikari and Sora now as well, but… 

Aqua… Terra… Lea’s brother… Isa’s family… 

They still had too much to look for, too much to find. While taking a breather after the headlong rush Ventus had been hurtling along since he woke was important, so was finding everyone. 

There was also the suspicion that he, Lea, and Isa had discussed: they'd all three of them gone missing from the Organization at the same time, and it was entirely possible, probable, even, that they were being hunted. Destiny Islands was protected for now, but the longer they stayed, the less likely it was to remain that way. Isa had told Ventus that he thought they'd stayed too long already. Ventus knew Caelum would be reluctant to see him go, but over the month they'd been here, well. They'd spent most of it talking- it was good, really good.

However good it was, some quiet part of Ventus agreed that Isa was right. They'd been here too long already.

The problem was, who to go after next? They had no leads on any of Isa’s family, even after comparing notes with Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Riku. Same with Lea’s brother. Terra- Ventus wasn't even sure where to start with Terra, and that left the only immediate choice as Aqua. Aqua, who was in the realm of darkness, trapped there, and had been for years. Ventus knew she'd been seen only about a year ago, but he was afraid, so scared that she would be dead or worse.

He sighed, good mood gone, and dropped his face in his hands.

“Hey, Ven, you okay?” A warm arm settled over Ventus’s shoulders, and Caelum sat beside him on the back porch swing. Ventus dropped his hands to his lap and rested his head on Caelum’s shoulder. “Looks like you're having deep thoughts, little brother.”

“I can't stop thinking about Aqua and Terra,” he confessed miserably. “Some part of me thinks that if I'd stopped being a brat and just gone back home like Aqua told me to, none of this would have happened. But I didn't like the way she told me it, and I got in over my head. I was so stupid, just like when I ran away. It feels like I never fucking  _ learn _ , until it’s way too late.” Frustration felt like a chokehold, making it hard to get the words out, bitten off and raw. Caelum sighed and squeezed him a bit tighter. Ventus appreciated his solid presence.

“Kids are selfish. Hear me out, Ventus.” Caelum said, kissing his temple. “Maybe it's more accurate to say that kids are self-centered. They think that everything revolves around them, because their world view, their inherent knowledge of people and events is still so small and limited. And that isn't a bad thing, Ventus, it's just how it  _ is _ . When a bad thing happens, like a bad grade, or accidentally breaks a vase, kids think it's their fault, because it's something they did, that they acted towards. It's on the adults to tell them that it's okay to get more help, to ask for another explanation, to confess that they didn't understand something, in the case of the bad grade, you know? And in the case of the broken vase, it's the adult’s responsibility to make sure the kid knows that accidents happen, that thinks break, and hey, maybe we can fix this together, or go out and get a replacement. Little things like that are huge in kids’ minds, because they just have less life experience. 

“So kids see things as their fault, their responsibility, even big things, out of their control, out of their influence. If the broken vase is a huge big deal in a kid’s mind, how much worse is something big? I'm talking about things no one can control. Natural disasters, horrible accidents, even deaths can leave kids feeling guilty and responsible. It's the adult’s responsibility to make sure that the kid knows that it wasn't because of something they did, that it isn't their fault, or their responsibility, either, that it's just the way the world works. That nothing they could have done would have changed the outcome, because this is something beyond your control. It's also the adult’s responsibility to explain that kids aren't at fault for other people's actions. 

“Say your friend for in huge trouble at school, because of something they did, and you feel guilty because you knew they were going to do the thing, and you think you should have talked them out of it, or said something sooner. That might have worked, but there's no saying your friend wouldn't still go do that thing later, instead. Maybe you could have changed the outcome, but maybe you couldn't. And that's not your fault. People are independent beings, and you cannot control them, even if it would keep them safe. And you shouldn't  _ try _ to control them. We have to let people have the dignity of risk, or it is, at base level, abuse. People make mistakes, and they learn from them, that's what makes them people.” Caelum sighed, scrubbing his hand through his hair. “Didn't mean to make that some kinda sermon, sorry.” Ventus chuckled, wiping away tears.

“When did you get so smart, Caelum?” He asked, smiling. Caelum offered him a crooked grin, looking tired and careworn.

“After you disappeared, it made me reevaluate my entire life, kiddo.” He said, brutally honest. “I should never have made you feel like you came in second to Sora. I should have checked in more, I should have made sure you really understood that having Sora would never make me love you any less.” He sighed, and Ventus hugged him tightly. Caelum hugged him back. “My point was, you going back to your teacher like Aqua told you to might not have changed anything. Terra and Aqua would still have made the choices they did, only perhaps in a slightly different way. Additionally, your Master Eraqus should have gone out himself, and not left that responsibility on Aqua’s shoulders alone. It was unfair of him to do so, she was only, what, eighteen at the time?” He checked.

“Yeah, and Terra was the same age. Aqua is a little older than him, by like, a few months.” Ventus confirmed. 

“Yeah, while that might be legally an adult, it's not emotional maturity. He screwed up there.” Caelum said, and Ventus sighed. Eraqus, no matter how good and benevolent, had screwed up, especially in regards to Ventus, and he was still trying to come to terms with it.

“I'll try to remember this,” he said softly.

“You do that. I'm guessing this is you saying you have to go?” Caelum asked softly, a wry smile crossing his face. Ventus smiled back, small and regretful. 

“I really think I have to. I miss them so much, Caelum.” 

“I understand. Though- I thought Lea and Isa were your boyfriends? Aren't they going to get jealous?” Caelum’s voice took a teasing lilt. Ventus jolted like he'd touched a live wire, eyes wide and startled.

“My- my  _ what _ ?!” He choked. “Aqua and Terra are like you! Siblings! And I- I'm not dating Lea and Isa!” He spluttered, hands waving defensively. Caelum looked bewildered. 

“But you share a room? A bed, even! Lea and Isa are  _ definitely _ dating. And they're so protective of you, it's adorable! Lea even has a pet name for you, Ven. I know you don't let just anyone call you sunshine, you beat up a kid in fourth grade for calling you that!” Caelum began, genuinely confused, expression morphing to devious teasing the more flustered Ventus looked.

“ _ Friends _ !” He whisper-shrieked. “We can do all these things and be platonic!” He insisted, shaking his head vigorously. Caelum softened. 

“Yes, you can, and that'd be okay. But it's also okay if you did want a relationship with them, I want you to know that, okay? Polyamory is perfectly acceptable, just remember to communicate!” Caelum assured him, and Ventus made a noise akin to a dying cat. A chuckle came from the back door, and they looked over to see Hikari, eyes twinkling. 

“Are you quite done tormenting Ven, honey?” She asked, clearly suppressing laughter. Caelum pouted at her. 

“I thought you were supposed to be on my side, beloved?” He mock-whined, and Ventus skipped up to his feet, slipping behind Hikari and sticking his tongue out at him. 

“I've corrupted her to my side!” Ventus taunted, and Hikari put her hands on her hips, raising an unimpressed eyebrow. 

“Or it’s like I'm my own human being, undefined by either of you, with my own side that just happens to generally align with yours, Caelum.” She said, dry and deadpan. Caelum chuckled, standing to swoop Hikari into a sweet kiss. 

“I know this, and I cherish you all the more for it, light of my life.” He told her seriously. She smiled back, cupping his cheek and kissing him again.

“I'm not straight enough to watch this,” Ventus complained. 

“I know,” both Hikari and Caelum answered in perfect sync, before kissing each other some more. Ventus rolled his eyes fondly. 

“Well, while you two are being sappy and married, I guess I'll start packing,” he informed them, and started away inside. He smiled to himself fondly, starting up the stairs. The front door crashed open, and when he turned to look, Lea and Isa were already halfway to the stairs, looking grim and worried. Sora was a few steps behind them, looking equally worried. The smile fell from Ventus’s face and he clutched the banister, horrible scenarios flashing through his mind.

“What's wrong? What happened?” He demanded. Hikari and Caelum stepped back inside, looking concerned.

“There were nobodies, on the beach after we got ice cream.” Lea reported tersely. “Three dusks. Sora destroyed them, but if they're here…”

“It's not safe anymore.” Ventus said grimly. “Sora, you and Riku are staying.”

“Hey, I can fight!” Sora protested, looking indignant. Ventus gentled.

“I know you can, which is why you need to stay here and protect your family. We're going for Aqua first, she's the most logical choice, and Riku can't go back to the Realm of Darkness, that would be really bad for him. So I want you two here, backing each other up, protecting everyone here who can't protect themselves, okay?” He smiled, and Sora pouted, conceding his logic. 

“Okay…” he said reluctantly, and Ventus glanced up at Hikari and Caelum, who both looked grateful.

“I'm counting on you, Sora!” He said, bright and sunny, and that made Sora perk up a bit, smacking a fist into his palm.

“You're right! I'll protect Riku and Kairi, and Mom and Dad, and Aunt Ren and Aunt Tsubame and everyone! You won't need to worry!” He said, full of cheerful, confident determination. Ventus smiled down at him, equally bright.

“Thank you Sora. That will really take a load off my shoulders.” He said warmly. “Love you, kiddo!”

“Love you too, Uncle Ven,” Sora said shyly, almost inaudible. Ven nodded, and all three of them trooped up to his room, leaving Sora to go update Riku, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy. 

“So, Aqua first?” Lea asked, expression a bit pensive, a touch unhappy. Ventus opened his mouth to apologize, explain his reasoning, but Isa beat him to it.

“It's only logical.” He said, as ever brutally honest. “We have a definitive location for Aqua. We know she was seen about a year ago, and was alive at that time. She has knowledge of Terra’s fate, most likely, which will make it easier to find him. She's a keyblade master, which makes her a valuable ally, as one who can permanently dispel heartless and nobodies. Finding her will make it easier to find everyone else, and easier to protect everyone we find.” Ventus was glad Isa thought he'd made the right choice. Lea looked mildly put out. 

“Fine, I get it, Isa.” Lea waved a hand, as if to ward him off. Ventus bit his lip.

“I'm sorry I didn't double check with you guys before I just went ahead and said that.” He said nervously. Lea smiled at him, wry but genuine.

“Don't sweat it, Sunshine. Both of you have a valid point. Aqua it is.” He sighed, reaching for his duffel bag. Ventus bit his lip. Caelum was… sort of right. Ventus did like them beyond friendship, but he didn't know how to say it, or what to say. Instead he caught Lea’s wrist and kissed him softly on the cheek, before attending to his own packing, ignoring the quick beat of his heart. Lea smiled at him, turning away to his own packing. 

After his thankfully expanded wardrobe was packed away, and the three of them had assessed the rest of their supplies and formulated a plan, Ventus went downstairs, finding Hikari. 

“Hey, Hikari, would you mind taking me shopping for a few supplies? It's mostly food stuff.” he waved the list the three of them had compiled- the only thing that wasn't food being a duffel bag and sleeping bag for Ventus. He had some munny from Isa and Lea as well. He relinquished the list when she reached for it, and followed hr back up the stairs.

“We have an extra duffel bag and sleeping bag up here,” she explained, tucking the list into her pocket and climbing the narrow, dark stairs to the attic. When Ventus had been a kid, he'd been convinced this attic was haunted. Now it was just a dark, narrow space full of slightly dusty boxes. Hikari frowned over the array. “I need to get Caelum to dust up here!” she exclaimed, before covering her mouth with her elbow and sneezing rapidly three times in a row. Ventus steadied her with a hand on her shoulder and she smiled gratefully. “Sorry, sorry!” She chuckled, wiping her eyes. “I think they're over there, though.” Ventus moved a couple of boxes- it wasn't actually that bad, they must clean up here regularly- and fished out a duffel and a sleeping bag. 

“Thanks!” He said, and they went back downstairs. Ventus dropped the things in his room with an apologetic request to repack his things. Isa waved him out with assurances, and he went. 

“Here, this is what we use when we have to get a lot of groceries,” Hikari said, handing him a backpack lined with heat-resistant material that had been hanging on a peg by the door. He slung it on, and followed her out the door, where she grabbed one of three well-maintained bicycles, this one with a large basket at the front, and pegs a person could stand on affixed to the stationary center of the rear wheels. 

Biking to the little grocery store was pleasant. The wind was in his hair, and Hikari told him little trivia points about the areas they cycled past. The shopping was done quickly, as all the food was of the non perishable variety, and Ventus had money left over, even. He eyed a little crepe stand as they passed. 

“Hikari, let's stop for a moment,” he said. She did so, throwing the kickstand down.

“What is it Ven?” She asked with a smile. He smiled back warmly. 

“I'm treating you to crepes, that's what. Tell me what you want, okay?” He grinned at her. She laughed, and Ventus felt a warm rush of fondness.

“All right, little brother. I thought you were in a hurry, though!” She teased gently. Ventus nodded. 

“It's not going to get any more dire in the twenty minutes I need to treat my sister to a crepe.” He said, still smiling as they placed their orders. 

They were good- a nice last sweet treat before Ventus had to go face his nightmares- full of powdered sugar, chocolate syrup, and sliced strawberries. They ate enjoying the early evening breeze, and Ventus knew this memory would be one that would get him through the Realm of Darkness. 

Isa’s nose twitched when they returned, like he could smell tart fruit and sticky-sweet syrup on them, and for all Ventus knew, he could. But he didn't say anything, didn't seem to fault Ventus for stealing a moment when he could. They finished up their packing and trooped back downstairs to say their goodbyes. Ren and Tsubame were there with Riku and Kairi, and Ventus shyly bid them goodbye after hugging his family tight.

Donald and Goofy were waiting for them in the backyard, now designated as the gummi beam-in point.

“So, where are we taking y'all?” Goofy asked. Ventus smiled- they'd discussed this while packing.

“Castle Oblivion. Isa has the coordinates, he can navigate.” He supplied. Donald looked nervous, and Goofy a touch concerned. 

“Are ya sure that's a good idea?” Goofy double checked.

“It's a border world, hovering between the Realm of Darkness and the Light. If we open a Corridor of Darkness there, we should be able to enter the Realm.” Isa explained calmly. 

“Don't come running to us if this blows up in your faces!” Donald squawked, hitting the button to beam them up. Goofy was the pilot this time, and Isa the navigator, so Lea and Ventus took themselves off to the back of the ship with the bags. Ventus sighed, sitting down on the bed, staring with a strange melancholy at his hands.

“What's wrong, Sunshine?” Lea asked softly, plopping down next to him. 

“I'm just… I'm scared, I think. And I already miss Caelum. Hikari and Sora, and all the rest, too. But mostly scared. My brain keeps cycling back to the possibility that Aqua- that she's dead. That she died all alone in the Realm of Darkness. And I can't- I can't let it go.” Ventus confessed, oddly dry-eyed as he watched his hands tremble. Lea caught him up and tumbled them over onto the bed. 

“You gotta have faith, Ventus.” Lea said, voice sounding a bit rough. Ventus tucked his head under Lea’s chin, appreciating the way Lea’s lanky warmth lay between him and the rest of the room, the wall at his back.

“I know, and people keep telling me that, but it's hard, to get it to really stick. I'm trying, I am.” Ventus muttered, breathing Lea in. He smelled faintly spicy, or maybe smoky, under the coconut scent of the soaps from Caelum’s house.

“I know.” Lea said, and they lapsed into silence, Ventus dozing and soaking up the warm affection. 

“Lazybones. We're here.” Isa’s voice was fond, and Ventus lifted his head. 

“Wasn't asleep!” He protested. Lea yawned, stretching and standing from the bed. 

“Sure about that, Sunshine? I think I heard some snoring!” Lea jibed. Ventus rolled his eyes, standing up too and doing a couple of his own stretches before grabbing his bag. 

“Then congratulations on waking yourself up.” He retorted, and Isa chuckled. 

“He's got you there, Lea.” He murmured behind Ventus as the blond made his way to the transporter room- though closet seemed to be a more apt term for it. Donald was waiting for them there, and he looked worried. 

“Do you want us to wait for you?” Donald asked. Ventus shook his head.

“We'll be headed into the Realm of Darkness, I don't know how long it will take us. Once we've radioed up that we've got a way in, go ahead and go.” Ventus paused. “But thank you. For everything.” He smiled brightly, and the duck huffed, appearing embarrassed. 

“Well, get in there!” He ordered bossily, and the three of them squeezed into the transporter. Ventus didn't like getting transported- the best analogy he could come up with was getting squeezed through a straw, uncomfortable and a bit upsetting if you weren't prepared for it. He stumbled when they rematerialized, and Lea caught his arm, looking extremely worried. 

“Easy, Sunshine,” he muttered, and Ventus recalled the fainting spell he'd had as Roxas.

“I'm okay,” he reassured Lea. “I just hate transporters. Isa, where do you want to do this?” He asked, staring up at the Castle. The transporter had dropped them outside the building proper, on a path wending through grassy hills. He turned his head, a flash of some kind of wood-and-metal construct catching at the corner of his eye, but he saw nothing when he looked. Strange. A shooting star flashed across the night sky, and Ventus felt a pang in his chest.

“Sunshine, you even paying attention?” Lea’s voice cut through his thoughts. 

“Oh- I- I'm sorry. This place just feels… really familiar.” Ventus laughed weakly. Lea frowned.

“Well, you were stuck here for ten years.” He said, nibbling his lip. Isa cleared his throat gently. “Right, sorry.”

“I'm going to open a Corridor to the World That Never Was. Once we've gone in, I'm going to close both exits, and that should drop us into the Realm of Darkness.” Isa said calmly, before pulling on his Organization coat. Lea did the same, and Ventus armored up. “We should probably hold onto each other when I trigger the drop, I don't want us to get accidentally separated.” 

“Got it,” Lea nodded, and Ventus murmured a nervous acknowledgement. Isa summoned his claymore, and darkness rent the air, forming a doorway. Ventus had to bolster his courage with thoughts of Aqua, grabbing Lea’s hand. Lea gripped back without comment, silently comforting. Isa radioed up to the gummi ship, and then took Ventus’s other hand. Ventus looked up, a touch startled, and Isa smiled down at him, gentle and reassuring. 

“Here we go!” Lea laughed, and they stepped through to the plane of shifting shadow. They walked a short distance before Isa drew to a halt. 

“Are you ready?” Isa asked, raising one hand.

“As I'll ever be,” Lea said, cheerfulness strained with worry. Ventus nodded, gripping their hands a fraction tighter. Isa favored them both with a small smile, and dropped his arm.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then the shadows wavered all at once, and the Corridor collapsed around them, sending them plummeting into shapeless, formless Darkness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol cliffhanger. Sorry? Only sort of, though. 
> 
> Are y'all ready for the Realm of Darkness?! What do _you_ think might happen?
> 
> Also, y'all can find me for chatter, occasionally prompts, and general shenanigans on tumblr at @dreamychaos (main) or @oopsbirdficced (fic)!


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Introducing: plot twists in the Realm of Darkness! Also, fight scenes are courtesy of my husband, WaywardDesertKnight's choreography.
> 
> The last section of this chapter was brought to you by the two-hour wait in front of the Na'Vi River Ride at Animal Kingdom in Disney World, where I am for my honeymoon!

Darkness sat heavy and cloying in his nose when he woke, making him disoriented. It was a scent that almost had a feeling attached, like fluid seeping into his skin. Isa coughed, loud and harsh in the oppressive silence, and dragged himself up. Ventus was already up, shaking Lea’s shoulder briskly to rouse him. Perhaps his helmet protected him better from the effects of the darkness than their hoods did. Isa hauled himself to his feet, and Ventus looked over, his helmet’s visor darkened once more. 

“Good, you're up.” Ventus muttered tersely. He had to be nervous. Lea groaned, heaving himself unsteadily to his feet. 

“Didn't think that'd knock us out,” Lea grumbled, rubbing at his temples. 

“Speak for yourself, I was fine,” Ventus said, and Isa frowned a bit. Ventus must be very unsettled, if he was being this short with Lea. 

“It might be that our coats protect us less well than Ventus’s armor.” He offered a reason. Lea nodded.

“Sounds reasonable.” He murmured. Ventus crossed his arms over his chest, uncomfortable or irritated, Isa couldn't quite discern which. His body language was much harder to read with his face hidden. Isa honestly hadn't thought Ventus was that scared, as to hide himself in his armor so fully. 

“Let's get moving.” Ventus urged, and Isa nodded, his eyes slowly adjusting to the gloom. 

“But where do we go? What direction?” Lea asked, looking a touch helplessly around them. Ventus looked down, shoulders hunching. Isa opened his mouth slightly and scented, but immediately regretted that choice. Darkness coated his tongue like a viscous fluid, and he coughed again, resisting the urge to spit to attempt to clear his mouth. Lea glanced over, worried. 

“Okay there?” He checked. 

“Yes. I can't smell anything other than the darkness. It's almost like a liquid, like trying to breathe in a marsh. We can't rely on scent to guide us- though it probably wouldn't have worked in the first place, I don't know Aqua’s scent. Unless you have something of hers, Ventus.” Isa reported. Ventus shook his head.

“No, there's nothing left of her in the world.” He muttered. Lea sighed, putting his hands on his hips. 

“Well, I guess we pick a direction and start walking-” 

“Wait… that's not quite true.” Ventus’s voice was faint, but in the oppressive silence of this place, they both heard him. They turned to him expectantly. He shoved his hand into a side pocket of his duffel bag, withdrawing a star-shaped talisman of green glass and metal, one Isa had seen Ventus fiddling with frequently. “She made this. She made one for each of us. It's a wayfinder. A talisman made to look like a paopu fruit, to bind destiny and bring people home safe, something sappy like that. They're… supposed to be made of seashells. How… how did she  _ know _ ?” Ventus’s voice was rough, and a thread of incongruous anger wound through his tone. 

“Ventus?” Isa asked softly, grasping Ventus’s shoulder gently. Ventus shook him off without so much as a sideways look, the scent of his anger growing. 

“She never went to Destiny Islands. They- she even knew about the stories about paopu fruit-  _ how did she know _ ?!”

“Ventus, calm down. Why is this upsetting you so much?” Lea asked calmly, reaching out but not touching the other man. Ventus went still.

“…You're right. It's nothing.” Ventus sighed, though his tone way tight, his body still tense. He undid the star-shaped clasp and fastened the leather cord around his neck. The charm clinked a bit awkwardly over his chestplate. Silence reigned for a few long moments. 

“Hey… this might sound stupid, but, a wayfinder… finds the way, right?” Lea asked slowly. “And Aqua has one exactly like that, right? Could they… find each other?”

“At this point, it's our best option. Ventus?” Isa asked, turning to him. Ventus sighed, sounding slightly irritated. Something was off with Ventus, and it was starting to bother Isa.

“If this doesn't work…” he trailed off, as the green glass glimmered weakly, lifting under its own power to tug at the leather cord. “What. That's- what kind of magic did she  _ put _ in this thing?” Ventus breathed, sounding mildly astonished. 

“Does it matter?” Isa asked pragmatically. “We have a direction.”

“Right. Let's go.” Ventus said tersely, and started running.

For a while, it felt like they were running in place. The darkness was all encompassing, the gloom difficult to see through, the ground flat and featureless.

Then shapes twisted up out of the gloom, spires of stone and juts of dark-gleaming crystal. Paths looping in on themselves. It slowed their pace as they navigated the now more treacherous terrain.

“At least it feels like we're getting somewhere now.” Lea grumbled, before letting out a shout of warning. “Heartless!” 

A group of neoshadows twitched out of the darkness, accompanied by a pair of sword-bearing invisibles. Isa snarled as he summoned his claymore. He charged in, smashing two of the smaller heartless aside before he connected with one of the invisibles. His weapon caught in the notches of the invisible’s sword, the werewolf planted his feet and twisted his whole body. The sword skittered along the ground as he spun and struck down the invisible.

He dodged another neoshadow as he made for the second Invisible. The neoshadow in question blazed with fire a moment later as it tried to flee and Lea caught it. The invisible swung for his head, Isa rolled under the attack and between the legs of the heartless. He sprang to his feet, narrowly avoiding the bladed tail. He stabbed his claymore into its back and wrenched. The invisible screamed as it flew into the air, before Ventus cleaved it in two. The remaining neoshadows fell or fled in mere moments. 

Isa breathed deeply, staring transfixed at Ventus’s keyblade. Where white wings had been now were black, and in place of a blood-red heart was an eerie blue eye. He leveled his claymore at whatever imposter had stolen Ventus’s very self, eyes glinting, hard and uncompromising. 

“Hey, Isa, what the fuck are you doing- oh shit.” Lea trailed off, staring at Ventus’s keyblade now too. “What the fuck.” He repeated, a touch helplessly. The person who was not Ventus made an irritated noise. 

“Make your visor transparent again.” Isa ordered, voice rumbling with a nearly subvocal growl. 

“Ah, fuck. Didn't think the keyblade would change with me,” the imposter mused, lifting the blade to inspect it. Isa growled again, louder. The only reason he wasn't attacking was because this was actually Ventus- his scent was the same, plus a faint hint of smoke and shade. “Short fuse much, Blueberry?” The imposter cackled.

“You heard him, jackass,” Lea hissed. 

“Che, fine, firecracker. Just know this isn't going to win you any points with that chick.” The imposter fiddled with the side of his helmet, and the faceplate turned clear once more. The shape of the face, the smooth brown skin- those were Ventus’s. But pale, heartless-gold eyes stared out at them, under a soft fringe of thick black hair that looked more like Sora’s than Ventus’s. “I'm Vanitas. Got it  _ memorized _ ?” He sneered. Lea snarled right back. Isa lowered his claymore, but didn't put it away.

“Ventus mentioned you. I thought you were reintegrated fully.” He said sharply. Vanitas held up a hand and wobbled it back and forth.

“As fully as I was ever gonna get. I'm him, he's me.  _ I _ just know how to have fun.” Vanitas’s grin was sly, a weird look in Ventus’s face. Lea hissed impatiently. 

“Explain  _ better _ , asshole.” He demanded. Vanitas rolled his eyes.

“Ugh, fine, why the fuck do I like you. I have  _ no taste _ .” Vanitas complained. “Fine. I see from my eyes, hear from my ears, taste with my mouth-” he leered faintly at Lea, “Etcetera, etcetera. I'm not some weird other, I'm me. Ventus is me, too. It's actually kind of weird for me to call me- call him, I guess, Ventus. I'm not,  _ we're _ not, separate entities. Getting broken the way I was- it had consequences, okay? This just happens to be one of them. A dye job, contact lenses, a lack of inhibition, tada! Ventus is now Vanitas. Admittedly, without having to futz with hair dye and actual contact lenses, but, y’know.” Vanitas shrugged expressively. Isa considered this. It fit, distressingly enough.

“Why now? What happened to trigger the change?” He asked. Vanitas glanced around them pointedly. 

“Uh, hello, Realm of Darkness? I was originally the dark half. It's like, I dunno, an autoimmune response. I'm an antibody to the darkness. Or something.” Vanitas shrugged again. Isa nodded sharply. 

“All right. We should go.” He said. Lea waved his hands.

“No no no, back up. Why do you say this isn't gonna win any favors with Aqua? Is you being here going to make our job harder?” He asked, crossing his arms. 

“You bet your ass it will. When I was separate, still under the old man’s thumb, I think I probably fought her… three or four times? I wasn't nice about it, either. And then we fused in front of her and formed an imperfect χ-blade in front of her, and, well… she has a lot of reasons to hate this part of me.” Vanitas smirked. “I'm good at pissing people off, what can I say?”

“Well that's just perfect.” Lea groused. “Can you, I don't know,  _ not _ ?” 

“Can you stop being a redhead?” Vanitas asked, looking deeply unimpressed. “In an emergency, maybe. If it stops her from cutting off my head, probably. Right now? No.” Isa sighed, irritated. 

“We need to get moving. Lea, just deal with it for now.” Isa said. “The longer we linger, the higher the chance of heartless attacking.” Lea ceded his point with a grumble, and Vanitas smirked. Isa stared at him, eyes hard. “You have the wayfinder, Vanitas. Find our way.” He ordered. Vanitas sneered, but took off at an easy lope, pacing himself. The necklace kept a steady tug, he reported.

They ran. Time seemed an immaterial thing here, in these twisting paths of stone and dark and crystal. Gravity seemed to be optional for their surroundings, if not for them. They fought- heartless Isa had never seen before, along with shadows, neoshadows, and invisibles. All pureblood heartless, not an emblem to be seen. Understandable, if a bit strange.

Soft echoes seemed to float through the air sometimes. A scream had Isa turning, looking around, but Vanitas shook his head.

“Just a memory in the dark.” He muttered grimly.

_ “There's no ‘time’ in the realm of darkness.” _

A woman's voice, soft and ethereal. Vanitas jerked, looking around before shaking his whole body like a dog shaking off water.

“Speaking of memories in the dark. We might be getting close. That's her voice.” Vanitas reported.

_ “I walk… on and on without end.” _

“Think that's literal?” Lea asked, looking a little grim as he scrambled up a rock formation. Isa caught his arm, helping him up the last couple feet. 

“Hard to say,” Isa said, wishing he could say something more reassuring. Lea sighed.

_ “In the realm of light, do days or years pass with each step?” _

“Wait- she's lost track of time? Like, literally?” Lea asked. Vanitas shook his head.

“I dunno. There's no sun, no real way to track time. Must be hard to figure out, you know?” He muttered, sounding rather like Ventus for once. 

“ _ I know something has started to go wrong.” _

“Well, she's not  _ wrong _ ,” Lea said grouchily, summoning his chakrams to slice bright lines of fire through a rank of shadows. Isa cut a darkball in half, and Vanitas casually decapitated a neoshadow.

“ _ Started _ , though? How old is this- this memory?” Isa growled. “Things have been  _ going _ wrong, ever since Radiant Garden fell to darkness.” It wasn't hubris to name his and Lea’s homeworld as the start of troubles, theirs was the origin of emblem heartless, the first world to truly fall, after all. The Keyblade Graveyard was an equally troubling and troublesome place, a close second.

_ “I must hurry.” _

“Bit late for that,” Vanitas bit out, slamming his disturbing keyblade through an invisible’s midsection. Isa huffed, but internally agreed. “Oh, fuck me,” Vanitas moaned a second later, mingled with Lea’s hissed obscenity as a darkside rose from the depths, tall and menacing. Isa tightened his grip on his claymore.

“Go high, both of you,” he barked, before launching himself low. Lea launched a succession of fireballs at its face, blinding it, while Vanitas sliced through one of its wrists, narrowly avoiding the flames. Isa lined up and swung hard with his claymore. Without the support of its spindly legs and flailing in pain, the darkside crashed to the ground. Lea rolled, nearly colliding with Isa as he avoided the collapse. Vanitas however rebounded off of one of the rocks floating above them.

Isa sprang into the air and smashed into the head as Vanitas jammed his keyblade into the chest, just above the heart-shaped hole. Lea let out a whistle as the creature dissolved.

“Well, that's over.” Lea sighed. They took a moment to drink some water and pass around a couple granola bars. Isa scanned the surrounding area as he ate. It was incongruous, the way the Realm of Darkness was spotted with gleaming cracks of crystal, though he supposed it lent credence to the old tale of Kingdom Hearts. That the true form of it, a place of pure light full of the hearts of all people, had been lost within the Realm of Darkness. The proper wording was actually ‘swallowed by darkness’, but looking around, he felt like it was here. What else would bring light to the Realm of Darkness?

If you ran through the dark for long enough, could you find Kingdom Hearts?

He was distracted out of his thoughts when Vanitas declared their rest over. Lea groaned. Isa quietly gauged each of their strength levels. Vanitas seemed fine for a while yet, but Lea was starting to get dangerously tired. Isa himself had a higher stamina than either of them, but he was going to have to eat more than just a couple of granola bars here soon. Was there any place safe enough to rest? The heartless seemed to have free reign here, which was understandable. How long had they even been here? His mind seemed intent on insisting it had only been a few hours, but his body was more tired than a few hours’ consistent travel and frequent skirmishes should make him.

“How long have we been here?” He asked, cutting through Lea and Vanitas’s half-hearted bickering. 

“Like half a day?” Lea said, shrugging.

“I dunno, a couple hours?” Vanitas replied at the same time. He and Lea stared at each other. “What do you mean, half a day?” Vanitas demanded. Lea bristled. 

“What do  _ you _ mean, a couple hours?” Lea growled right back. Isa cleared his throat before another argument started.

“I find that my own mind thinks we've been here perhaps five hours, maybe six. Closer to Lea’s estimate. However, might this be what the memory of Aqua meant? When she said there is no time here.” He mused. Both of them blinked, dumbfounded. 

“You mean we're all right?” Vanitas ventured a guess. 

“I mean- I believe time is broken, here. Or at the very least, it doesn't work properly.” He nodded decisively. “Think back to the other thing she said: that she didn't know if days or years passed with each step. It makes sense.” He nodded, satisfied. 

“But if that's true- how long will we be down here? How long have we already been down here?” Lea asked, troubled. 

“I don't know.” Isa replied, simple and solemn and foreboding. Silence reigned for a few long moments before Vanitas made a soft disparaging noise.

“All the more reason to get a fucking move on, come on.” Vanitas groused, and Lea glared at him, but didn't dispute his point.

“We must set our pace by the one who tires the fastest.” He warned them. Vanitas rolled his eyes, and Lea looked grim. Isa eyed him with concern. He hadn't meant for Lea to push himself, but he recognized that particular bloody-minded determination. “I mean it. If either of you gets tired, we stop and rest. Exhaustion will get us killed down here.” He warned, and Lea relented slightly as Vanitas sighed.

“Fine, I could use a bit longer of a breather,” Lea admitted, making a pained expression. Isa caught his hand and squeezed it gently. Vanitas heaved a long-suffering sigh, and Isa shot him an irritated glance. Vanitas skulked around as Isa secured a nearby cave. Their rest was brief and uneasy, though Isa took the chance and made them all eat. Sooner than he would have preferred, they were back on the hunt. 

They followed the pull of the wayfinder, falling quiet as even Vanitas and Lea lost the energy to keep sniping at each other, in favor of scrambling and fighting their way up and down strange rock formations. 

Then they crested a hill, and a building stood before them, trapped in a brilliant, iridescent bubble. The building was difficult to see, but it seemed to be two curved towers of golden brickwork with purple-roofed turrets, connected at the top with a bridge. Below the bridge hung an enormous, intricate timepiece. 

“What the…” Vanitas muttered, staring wide-eyed. “What is something so bright doing in the Realm of Darkness?”

“There cannot be darkness without light, so this must be the light that forms the darkness. They say the brightest lights cast the deepest shadows, after all.” Isa said, and Vanitas rolled his eyes, muttering something uncomplimentary about know-it-alls. Lea squinted at it, puzzled. Isa made an inquiring noise.

“I just- doesn't that look like the mural in the dining room? The one GiGi painted, that she said was of her old home, before she came to Radiant Garden? What'd she used to call it?” Lea asked.

“Daybreak Town. Which makes that the Forbidden Clocktower.” Isa said softly. 

“She ever tell you why it was forbidden?” Vanitas asked. Isa shook his head.

“She told us she'd tell us when we were eighteen.” Isa murmured. Vanitas clicked his tongue in annoyance. Lea sighed. 

“She told us she'd tell is a lot of things when we were eighteen.” He muttered regretfully. Vanitas cocked his head curiously. 

“How old were you when your world fell?” He asked. Isa winced, and Lea looked guilty. 

“Seventeen?” Lea offered, looking even more guilty. Vanitas made a disgruntled noise.

“So if you'd been patient, this wouldn't have happened?” Vanitas asked crankily. Isa glared at him sharply.

“The world would have fallen regardless. Ansem’s apprentices ensured it. We might not have been at ground zero, but that's the only thing that would have differed.” He said sternly. Vanitas shrugged one shoulder in a half-assed apology. Isa stiffened when his ears caught movement, a rasping breath that rattled out into a word.

“...L- lux…” it was a bare whisper, but that was enough to put Isa on high alert. Lea looked to him, alarmed. Vanitas shifted nervously.

“What is it?” Lea breathed. Isa shook his head- he wasn't sure. 

“Vanitas, where does the wayfinder point?” He hissed urgently. Vanitas pointed wordlessly to the bubble-encased tower. Isa stared at the iridescence for a moment, noting the odd hexagonal structure of the transparent shield. “Fine. It's got to be better than staying out here.” He said tersely. Lea looked worried. 

“Lu-u-u-xxx…” the insidious little voice rasped again. Isa pulled his claymore free, causing Lea to call his chakrams, and Vanitas his keyblade. At the sight of the keyblade, something chittered at a volume even the two non-werewolves could hear. 

“Give me lu-u-u-u-x!” something screeched at a pitch to shatter glass, a wild uluating cry. A dark shape detached from the shadows to launch itself at Vanitas. He flung it back away with his keyblade, but not before Isa saw something disturbing: what he'd initially taken for a larger neoshadow was actually some strange new horror. Unlike the other Heartless, these ones seemed to take an active interest in studying them. Their movement, while erratic, flowed the way a stalking beast’s would. Normal Heartless behaved without much thought to their actions, but the small glances and chirps that passed between this one and others still cloaked in the dark meant they could coordinate and hunt. And they had the tattered remains of clothes wrapped around them.

“Run!” Isa barked, swatting a second horror away. Lea and Vanitas reacted with gratifying swiftness, racing for the barrier as they fought off the sudden encroaching horde. Passing through, Isa felt a brief moment of resistance as the barrier briefly stretched over him, before he slipped through. He was briefly blinded, and felt Lea’s warm hand steady him. When his vision cleared, he was not where he had seen.

Where the two golden curves of the clock tower has been, now was a towering monument of polished metal and gleaming glass, that split into four towers halfway up, connected by walkways at two points to a thin, spirelike fifth tower that jutted from the center of the monolith.

“This isn't the Forbidden Clocktower.” Isa said dumbly. Lea snorted softly. 

“No kidding. Back with us, Ventus? I was worried.” He asked, releasing Ventus from where he'd clamped the smaller man to his side. And it was Ventus again, looking around with wide eyes. 

"Uh, yeah? I never left.” Ventus said, blinking. Isa shrugged, glancing around. They were in some sort of square in front of the building, clean and well-maintained. Ventus shouldered his keyblade, and in the blink of an eye, they were surrounded. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who don't play the mobile Kingdom Hearts title Union x (Cross), the Clocktower also appears in the short film on KH2.8, Kingdom Hearts x Back Cover, and is a landmark where the Foretellers, the five students of the original keyblade Master (called the Master of Masters, in a feat of originality) live and work. The mobile title is a currently ongoing story, so this will not be entirely accurate to it, and will be diverging.
> 
> If you have any questions about anything at all, please, feel free to ask! Except for the reveal of the location the Clocktower turned in to- that's a surprise for next chapter! ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is where shit veers straight into AU territory, where previously it had just been in canon divergence.
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter better than last one, it was kind of disheartening that nobody seemed to like it. :/
> 
> (SPOILER WARNING for the end of Final Fantasy XV in this chapter)

Ventus dissipated his keyblade, raising his hands in hasty surrender. Lea and Isa followed suit, though Isa looked incredibly annoyed about it. The black-coated men formed up around them and they were made to march into the tower. Ventus examined the person in front of him.

The black coat was a uniform of some kind, well-tailored to be easy to move in, with black braid forming decorative clasps down the front, silver buttons forming a neat line down either side of the chest. The collar was high, and the coat went down to the knee, with vents in the sides and back up to the hips. Under the coat were practical black pants tucked into knee-high buckled black boots. An insignia covered the back of the coat in silvery white, a draconic knight with wings made of swords that clasped another sword in its talons.

They were led into the building, whose interior was done up in black marble and gold accents. Lea and Isa pressed close to him, and Ventus looked around, wide-eyed.

“This is ostentatious as shit,” Lea muttered, and one of their escorts coughed, quiet and obvious in intent. Lea squeaked and shut up. They were led through twisting corridors and up an elevator before being delivered into a massive throne room of all things. A stairwell split into two that curled around to the central throne. It was beautiful, but Lea was right, incredibly ostentatious.

Their escort peeled away to form a line behind them- no running that way, he guessed. Isa stepped a touch in front of them, a barely vocal growl rumbling his chest. Ventus caught his hand without a thought, squeezing it in both comfort and warning. One soldier proceeded up the steps to speak inaudibly with the king, or the emperor, or the regent- with whoever sat upon the throne.

The king (probably) stood, coming down the steps to stand on the midway platform where the steps diverged, and that was when things started to get odd. The king was, at one moment grey-haired and green-eyed, using a cane, but the next he was young and sturdy, with black hair and blue eyes. He continued to slowly change from one to the other, seemingly at random.

“Everyone else seeing this?” Lea murmured, nearly inaudible. Ventus and Isa nodded. “Okay, that's good.”

“Welcome, visitors. I am told you have a weapon shaped like a key?” The older man asked, smiling faintly. Ventus smiled back, and stepped forward, materializing his keyblade across his open palms. He didn't want them to think he was attacking.

“I do, Your, uh- Majesty?” Ventus stumbled over the correct form of address, hoping it was accurate. The genteel man nodded, and shifted into the younger king.

“You're not the first visitors we've had that wielded one of those. I don't know how long ago now, but there was a woman who stayed here briefly.” He said, style of speech less formal than the older king’s. Ventus nearly dropped his keyblade.

“Aqua? You saw Aqua? Where is she, please, can you tell me?” He asked, desperate and urgent. The older king looked sad.

“I'm afraid not, young man, she left our realm a while ago. Her and the young man she was traveling with.” He said regretfully. Ventus blinked.

“But Terra’s still out in the realm of Light, isn't he?” He muttered, confused. Who else would Aqua travel with? Isa stepped in.

“Your Majesty, can you tell us where we are? We were in the Realm of Darkness, and we passed through some sort of barrier, and now we're here.” He said. “And, might we know your name? I am Isa Lécuyer, and these are Ventus Valerius and Lea Sinclair.” He introduced. The young king smiled.

“Of course. I am Noctis Lucis Caelum CXIV-”

“Regis Lucis Caelum CXIII-”

“And we welcome you to the Citadel of Insomnia, capital city of the Kingdom of Lucis. Or the memory of it, anyway, locked in time by the Astrals and left to drift.” Noctis’s smile was gentle and wry, and when he shifted back into Regis, the older king had the same smile. They had to be father and son.

“Um, how do we get back out? You said Aqua isn't here anymore, and I- I really need to find her.” Ventus trailed off, worried and scared for his sister. Regis turned that kind smile to him.

“Fear not, child of the strong winds. You will find her. But first, you must understand.” He said, looking grave and serious.

“Understand what?” Lea asked. Noctis smiled back at him, but it wasn't a joyful look.

“You must understand how things came to be the way they are today. You must see the history that has been forgotten.” Noctis told him.

“And you must hurry. Time is running short.” Regis warned.

“Or maybe it's running away.” Noctis smiled, a flash of whimsy. “We have tried our best to arrange it so you see these things in order, but time is a broken thing here. Piece together what you see. Find your sister, Aqua Spes, she has more pieces of the puzzle.” Noctis spoke quickly, even as Ventus realized that the black-coated guards were fracturing into light and disappearing. The lights went out, suddenly, and they were plunged into darkness, Ventus grabbing hurriedly for Lea and Isa’s hands. The lights flickered back on to a gruesome scene: four bodies hung in chains from the ceiling, Regis, a man in the black uniform of the guards, and a man and woman in white. All of them seemed to have died horrific deaths. The throne room was in shambles, a huge hole blown in one wall. Noctis strode forward, accompanied by three men in the black uniform, all of them looking rather singed.

“I’m afraid you’re out of luck. The throne brings you here? It seats only one.” A silky, awful voice purred. Ventus looked back at the throne, realizing there was a man seated in it, clad in many layers, a hat sitting jauntily on wine-red hair, eyes like black, tarry pits staring condescendingly down at Noctis.

“Off my chair, jester. The king sits there.” Noctis ordered with quiet confidence. They spoke in threatening tones to each other as the three of them stood by, unseen and unheard, until the ‘jester’- Ardyn, apparently, waved his hand, casting some kind of sickly sleep spell on Noctis’s companions.

“What did you do!?” Noctis demanded, alarmed.

“They have no place in this, the battle of kings! Come, Noctis!” Ardyn laughed, dark and sinister. He leapt from the hole in the wall, outside, and Noctis charged after him.

“Do we follow?” Ventus asked. Lea shrugged.

“Might as well.” He murmured, and they climbed up the stairs, Ventus pulling forth his keyblade glider so they could follow safely. As they flew, they passed through some sort of distortion, and the empty courtyard below them was suddenly full of fighting and flames. Ventus swore, veering out of the path of a burst of fire. Down below, Noctis and his three companions fought a horned giant who could command fire.

“What the fuck? Didn't that Ardyn guy knock them out?!” Lea shouted. Ventus hung on to the controls grimly, wrestling with thermals gone out of control.

“Remember, they looked singed! I think this fight took place before they entered the Citadel!” Isa yelled back over the howling winds. A frisson of magic split the air, originating from Noctis, spiraling up into the sky. Ventus banked hard to avoid whatever it was, the effort tearing a yell from his throat.

An enormous dragon man with wings made of swords- like the insignia on the backs of the uniform coats- flew down from the heavens. Swords began stabbing down at the horned giant, but he was agile, jumping around and off of them like a particularly nimble squirrel. The fight continued, though Noctis managed to wound the giant after the swords and dragon had vanished. Some sort of summon spell? What kind of talisman summoned up something that huge, terrifying, and powerful? Summon talismans were rare in the first place, created by lost and displaced souls, and disappeared when you managed to bring them home, or to a place like home. And it definitely hadn't been a dimension link, allowing for a person to draw upon the strength of distant friends through a different sort of talisman, fused with memory and magic.

Finally a quiet struck, Noctis and his companions staggering and exhausted. The thermals suddenly vanished as snow swirled through the air, another one of those too-powerful summons spiking up from Noctis. Ventus had to drag the glider up to avoid crashing, ignoring his companions’ panicky yells. Nearly naked women made of ice poured forth, all identical and somehow one. They froze the horned giant solid and Ventus was struggling to keep them aloft, so he missed what happened next.

“What the fuck she just kissed him!” Lea yelled, and Ventus blinked in surprise. Everything shattered into shards of ice, destroying the horned giant, and they were flung off course through another rippling haze.

At least the thermals were normal again, to Ventus’s relief, and he could actually glance around instead of having to focus on steering and not dying horribly. It was darker now, strange flashes of crimson-pink and blue-white light illuminating the broken city eerily. Noctis and Ardyn flashed past, floating with strange and upsetting grace off the ground, fighting with glowing, floating, spectral weapons.

“This is getting fucking ridiculous,” Isa sniped, and Ventus had to agree. Lea laughed breathlessly.

“Like what we get up to isn't equally ridiculous,” he said with more cheer than Ventus thought the situation warranted.

“I think what he was trying to say is this is ridiculous especially when we're all crammed on my keyblade glider trying desperately not to crash,” Ventus contributed.

They watched, spellbound or horrorstruck, Ventus wasn't sure, until Noctis finally darted in and struck Ardyn down.

“...so, that is how you would end it.” Ardyn gasped, falling to hard stone. “Now it is over, Majesty. What will you do?” Noctis walked over to his fallen opponent, and Ventus set the keyblade glider down, letting them all hop off. “Banish the daemons and bring peace? Erase me from history once more?” Ardyn’s tone seemed caught between hateful and wistful, as Noctis crouched beside him.

“This time… you can rest in peace. Close your eyes… forevermore.” Noctis vowed, face and tone achingly gentle.

“I will await you… in the beyond.” Ardyn murmured, closing his eyes, body vanishing in wisps of light. Noctis stood, and the scene wavered, cutting to Noctis, ascending the steps once more, as his three loyal guards drew weapons, monsters the like Ventus had never seen melting up from the ground.

“Prompto. Gladio. Ignis. I leave it to you. Walk tall… my friends.” Noctis murmured, and Ventus, Lea, and Isa were flung forward again, into the darkness of the ruined throne room once more. Ventus staggered, clinging onto Lea and fighting down a surge of nausea at the shift. Lea hung onto him, a supportive arm around his waist. Noctis sat upon the throne, and summoned his sword, stabbing it down against the marble floors.

“Kings of Lucis… come to me!” His voice rang in the silence, and faceless, armored ghosts rose up, charging at him, and then through him and he chokes and gasped for breath. One ghost lingered by the throne, clad in human form still. Regis, and it looked like he could barely stand to watch. Noctis shakily pushed the hilt of the sword to him when all the other ghosts were gone, and Ventus gasped, the sound swallowed up by the empty air.

“Dad… trust in me…” Noctis’s voice was low, pained. Like a deathrattle. Ventus clung to Lea in terrified denial. Regis’s ghost took up the blade and stabbed it through his son, vanishing as Lea and Isa swore, and Ventus cried out. They were sucked forward, a confusing series of images playing-

A campfire, the atmosphere cloaked with grief-

A desert road, three men pushing a broken-down car while the fourth steered-

The steps of the Citadel, Regis speaking softly to Noctis, and Noctis smiling, turning away-

A formless void, Noctis tearing Ardyn apart once and for all-

The sun rising over the mountains-

And darkness, soft and velvety, formless and shapeless, fell around them. Ventus sunk to the ground, shaking, and Lea and Isa huddled up with him, Isa stroking his back, and Lea holding him tightly.

A ball of light spiraled down from what Ventus could only describe as above, as a ball of concentrated darkness shot up from below, and the two twined around each other, forming a horrifyingly familiar shape. Ventus’s heart skipped a beat as he recognized the x-blade, and he hid his face in Lea’s chest, a strangled noise of fear escaping his throat.Lea shushed him gently, and they were out on a grassy hill, a gentle breeze blowing, as a man in an Organization coat laughed lightly, pacing through a ruined foundation.

“They say this is where the Citadel of the Dawn King once stood!” The man said, excited, to no one in particular, or maybe to himself, when Ventus lifted his head to look. “This will be the perfect place to build a place of learning. To teach others what I have learned.” He paused, looking at the ground.

“No- but- that's a myth. Can it be?” He murmured, bending over and reaching down. The strange man picked up the x-blade, looking old, covered in dirt and bits of plants. Ventus’s breath rasped in his chest. “Can this be the first? The original… x-blade?” The man’s voice was soft with wonder.

They skipped forward again, watching in a time lapse as a building was built where the ruins of the Citadel lay, rising up to become Isa and Lea’s Forbidden Clocktower. A city sprung up around it, and filled to the brim with people- with keyblade wielders. Ventus stared in awe.

The man spoke to his six apprentices, giving them tasks, and those very tasks set them against each other. He concluded with giving his last apprentice a box, a warning, and a horribly familiar keyblade- one that had no name, merely an all-seeing eye. The keyblade that Ventus had only ever seen in the hands of Xehanort. It was his own eye, according to him, with which he saw so that he could write down the Book of Prophecy, copies of which he had given to his other five apprentices, along with the charge of a Union of keyblade wielders.

Then he vanished.

The Unions clashed, rose up against each other.

The apprentices fought, turned against each other by their master’s instructions.

Keyblade wielders clashed in a desert, leaving it littered with dead keyblades, making it into a graveyard.

In the sky a rift opened, and Ventus, Lea, and Isa stared through a heart-shaped hole at the Citadel, in all its glory.

“The shape-” Ventus choked in a ragged gasp, still held close in Lea’s arms.

“Kingdom Hearts,” Isa breathed, equally ragged. They saw the x-blade glowing, the light beaming up from it creating the portal, as the very ground beneath their feet heaved and shook. The light surrounding the x-blade grew brighter and more intense, until it shattered, bits of it flying off in all directions as the world trembled, convulsed, and finally broke.

They were plunged into darkness once more, before a softly shimmering image of the x-blade appeared, before dissolving to form two indistinct figures. They solidified rapidly, until they were gazing at Noctis and Ardyn.

“What- what was that?” Lea rasped. Ardyn gave him a mocking little smile.

“I knew ‘twas beyond the capabilities of these three to understand, but no, you insisted.” He lamented, and Noctis rolled his eyes.

“Shut up, you hobo disaster.” Noctis snapped, in the tone of a man at the very end of his patience. His expression softened when he looked back to them. “I can't tell you, unless you figure it out yourselves.” He said, looking regretful.

“The Great Keyblade War.” Ventus croaked. “The events leading up to it- it was one of Xe-Xehanort’s favorite subjects. The oldest stories say that the worlds were all once one big world. There's an old story about it. ‘Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of light. Everyone loved the light.’” As Ventus spoke, Lea and Isa joined in, until they were speaking in an eerie unison.

“‘Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves. And darkness was born in their hearts. The darkness spread, swallowing the light and many people's hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of light survived... in the hearts of children. With these fragments of light, children rebuilt the lost world. It's the world we live in now. But the true light sleeps deep within the darkness. That's why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But someday, a door to the innermost darkness will open. And the true light will return. So listen: even in the deepest darkness, there will always be a light to guide you. Believe in the light, and the darkness will never defeat you. Your heart will shine with its power and push the darkness away.’” Ventus exchanged awkward glances with Lea and Isa. Some of their phrasing had been a little different, but it was the same story. Noctis smiled at them, eyes crinkling in amused pleasure. Ardyn was rolling his eyes.

“It's the truth, if simplified for children,” Noctis confirmed. “The five Unions of keyblade wielders tried to summon Kingdom Hearts without really knowing what it meant, or what it was. They caused a rift to open in space and time, and the Citadel and the Clocktower were existing simultaneously. They tore the fabric of space-time, and the world shattered.”

“Like a plate, carelessly dropped,” Ardyn murmured.

“This is why time runs differently between all the worlds, and why keeping the world order can be important.” Noctis finished, ignoring Ardyn.

“The x-blade- the original x-blade,” Ventus hesitated, trying to figure out what he was trying to ask. “It broke. And then we saw you two. Xehanort tried to force me to make the x-blade, then he broke my heart in half to see if that would work. Something about a heart of pure light and one of pure darkness?” He asked. Noctis smiled.

“The hearts of the Accursed of the Starscourge and the Chosen King of the Dawn combined to form the original x-blade.” Noctis winced slightly, presumably at his own title. “When they tried to summon Kingdom Hearts, they failed. Kingdom Hearts isn't something that _can_ be brought into the world- so the world broke. And in doing so, the x-blade also broke, shattering into seven shards of light and thirteen shards of darkness.”

“Thirteen-” Isa sucked in a sharp breath. “Then Xemnas was trying to what- forge us into these shards of darkness? Attract them to us somehow?” He looked absolutely furious, and a little disgusted.

“I don't know. I can't see the realms beyond here. This is the only place I exist now. But if you're here, then things are moving again. We can feel someone moving in the world, trying to reunite the seven and thirteen. Trying to truly revive the x-blade. You can't let this happen. The x-blade- it shouldn't have formed in the first place, and if it forms again, there's a chance it will unleash an unspeakable power that none in your realms can combat yet.” Noctis looked nearly desperate, and Ardyn was smirking in an oily manner.

“Come now, I wouldn't call it unspeakable, besides, this will only delay the inevitable.” He drawled, before falling silent again under Noctis’s quelling gaze. Ardyn yawned, appearing bored.

“Take this, and these. That's all the help I can give you, I'm afraid.” Noctis handed them a sword, and Ventus gingerly took it. It vanished into swirling shards of light, and he spooked. Isa took the handful of necklaces- each with a five-pointed-star pendant. “Dont worry, Ventus. It's supposed to do that.” Noctis winked. “I can't keep you here much longer-”

“Tick-tock,” Ardyn murmured lazily.

“So walk tall, my young successors. I know you'll make me proud.” he smiled, and then vanished, Ardyn with him. They stumbled, and found themselves in the Realm of Darkness once more.

“What the fuck, that was a trip and a half,” Lea complained, and Vanitas shoved out of his hold with an exaggerated eyeroll.

“I, for one, vote we rest.” Isa declared, to Lea’s vigorous nodding.

“Just as long as there aren't any of those freaky talking heartless.” Vanitas complained.

“Oh, yeah. For once I agree with Ventus’s asshole side.” He said, stretching and covering a yawn. “Definitely need a nap though, feels like we've been going for ages now.” Suiting actions to words, they set up camp in a nearby cave. “At least this place is ripe for the picking when it comes to caves.” Lea grumbled. He paused, watching Vanitas moodily state out the entrance. “What's the matter, grumpy?”

“We're going to find her, right?” Vanitas sucked in a breath through his teeth. “This is starting to feel- tedious. It's making me antsy.” Isa wrapped an arm around Vanitas’s shoulders, and he surprisingly didn't shrugs him off.

“We will. Your wayfinder is working again, right?” He asked softly. Vanitas closed his gold eyes and the green glass pendant rose from his chest to tug in a steady direction.

“Yeah.” He muttered unnecessarily. He smiled at Isa, a tiny expression. “I guess my taste in guys isn't all that terrible.”

“You said that before, what the hell do you mean by it?” Lea complained. Vanitas smirked over at him.

“What do people usually mean by it? I mean for some ungodly reason I want to kiss you. And Isa, but he's a lot less of a dumbass than you.” Vanitas laced his hand behind his head in a move so reminiscent of Sora it threw Lea off. Isa cleared his throat.

“We can revisit this discussion after we get out of the Realm of Darkness, you two. Get some rest, I'll keep watch” He told them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a word of explanation: The world of Final Fantasy XV is the past of the original world of Kingdom Hearts. It's canon that all the disparate worlds of KH used to be one, which is a little weird given their varied tech levels. To compensate for this, I had the original event that broke the world also break time! And no one really knows what the hell Kingdom Hearts really is, anyway.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, this one's a doozy because theY WOULDN'T STOP TALKING JFC
> 
> hi yes I'm fine
> 
> LOOK IT'S TOTALLY THAT ONE PERSON THEY CAME IN HERE TO FIND.
> 
> And thanks again to my husband, WaywardDesertKnight for the fight scene help.

“Hey.” Isa forced himself not to jump or startle at the soft murmur. Somehow Vanitas had snuck up on him. Vanitas seemed to know he had, though, and smirked before settling on the boulder beside Isa. He sat closer than Isa had expected, their shoulders brushing.

“What is it?” He asked, rather than attempt to analyze his intentions. Vanitas shrugged lightly. 

“Nothing, really. I just wasn't tired anymore.” He said softly. Isa looked over his shoulder at Lea, a little worried. Vanitas caught the look. “It's okay, he's fine.” 

“How do you know? He's getting tired a lot faster than us, I'm concerned.” Isa muttered, brow creased in a little frown. Vanitas smiled crookedly.

“He's a creature of the light. You and I, we both walk on the border of darkness.” Vanitas murmured leaning into Isa’s personal space even further. Isa frowned harder.

“I walk the border of darkness? What does that mean?” He asked, wondering if he should feel offended. Vanitas shrugged again. 

“I'm like an autoimmune response, right? An antibody or a vaccine. You, though, you are darkness. At least, a part of you is. I think that's why this part of me’s so attracted to you,” he says softly, leaning in and catching Isa’s mouth in a rough-sweet kiss. Isa could feel him smirk against his mouth, and it made a need for dominance surge in him. He caught the back of Vanitas’s head on one hand, tugging at his hair, and pressed his tongue insistently into Vanitas’s mouth, hot and demanding. His other arm wrapped around his waist, tugging him firmly against Isa. Vanitas’s hands tugged at Isa’s hair as he gave as good as he got, a hot, slick slide of mouth against mouth.

A wolf-whistle split the air, and Isa jerked back from Vanitas, startled. Lea was leaning up on an elbow, sleep-ruffled and grinning salaciously.

“I thought we had to wait until we got outta here?” Lea asked, clearly amused. Vanitas scoffed, standing up to saunter over to the redhead. 

“That's what Blueberry said. I never actually agreed to it.” Vanitas smirked. That smirk was insufferable, and it made Isa want to kiss it off his face. Vanitas crouched beside Lea, and the redhead looked up curiously. “Ready to go, Firecracker?” He asked, and Lea nodded, opening his mouth to say something. Instead, Vanitas grabbed a handful of his hair and pulled his head back, kissing Lea roughly. Lea let out a soft moan, and Isa shifted, biting his lip. That was  _ way _ too attractive. He coughed, and Vanitas let Lea go. 

“We really need to get going, before the heartless locate us again.” Isa rumbled, his voice a little lower than normal. Lea shivered, licking kiss-red lips and nodded. 

“Yeah. Right. Let's go.” He replied. Vanitas was smirking again. Had he ever stopped? They broke camp quickly, and ate on the move. Isa was going to need real meat soon, if the gnawing in his belly was any judge. Nuts and dried fruit, jerky and other preserved foodstuffs were all well and good, but what he was eating wasn't enough to satisfy his caloric needs. If anything it was a bare minimum, and he was already eating more than the other two. One of the many problems with being a werewolf. 

Hopefully there wasn't too much more of this.

They pressed on, a hard slog around the maze-like realm. It was difficult to tell if they were making any progress at all, and he worried about their ability to return. 

Habitually, he raised his head to scent the air, though lately he'd only been able to scent the cloying darkness surrounding them. He was getting used to the heaviness of the scent, the way it seemed to coat his nose and mouth. A faint thread of something familiar caught his attention, and he stopped, opening his mouth a little and sniffing.

“You got something?” Lea murmured, watching him sharply. 

“It's really weird to watch him do that,” Vanitas mumbled. 

“Shut up, both of you,” Isa growled. He couldn't be right about this, could he? He started moving quickly towards the scent- in the same direction as Vanitas’s wayfinder was tugging, luckily. All three of them ran and climbed with newfound energy.

They heard it before they saw it. The crash and spark of heavy-duty battle magic, growls, snarls, the soft chatter of heartless. They stopped short on a cliff overlooking the battle. Isa spotted what appeared to be a werewolf in warbeast form, though one with a skull for a face and two glowing, heartless-gold eyes. He also caught a flash of blue hair, and- a keyblade? Had one of his cousins also become trapped here? At this range this new person certainly smelled like they could be related to him, and looked it too. Unfortunately the two were engaged with a swirling vortex of shadow heartless, all moving as one horrifying hive mind.

Isa vaulted into the air as he summoned his claymore. He dove straight through the heart of the curling line. All that seemed to accomplish was agitating the swarming mass as they now rounded on him. This bought both Lea and the unknown keyblade wielder a chance to launch a volley of magic, though. The swarm relented as Lea skidded down the cliff to stand beside Isa.

“So what’s the- whoa!” Lea began before the warbeast leaped forward, grabbing him by the back of his coat and flinging him back up to the safety of the cliff. Lea gaped for a minute, before an old, habitual protest spilled from his lips. “C’mon GiGi, I can fight!” He nearly whined. Isa laughed, tiny and choked. He was right, then. Though what had  _ happened _ to his great grandmother? The warbeast huffed in protest until Lea’s chakrams dropped into his hands in a whirl of flame, and he scrambled back down the cliff to join in the fight. She didn't stop him this time.

Isa’s attention returned to the tide of shadows, now encased in glowing gold chains. Vanitas let loose a flash of thunder magic, as the unknown keyblade wielder struggled to keep them all contained. Isa charged forward along with the warbeast and both collided with the chained shadow hive and were flung back. Heartless flew in all directions, limp and lifeless as they flopped along the ground. Vanitas flung spell after spell at the red hot core of the swarm. 

Isa skidded from the recoil of his attack along the soft, shifting dark sand. The warbeast rolled back to her feet and snarled as Lea darted in, flinging his chakrams. They dug in, held against the core thanks to his magic but it clearly wasn't enough. It seemed no matter how many heartless they cast from the hive, the center refused to die. The chains were a powerful, draining magic as near as Isa could tell and soon enough they’d be back at square one, once the unknown cousin's mana pool ran dry.

A howl rang through the air before a black blur collided with the last bits of the core. A shower of white hot sparks burst from the core, briefly blinding him with their unexpected radiance, accompanied by a sickening crunch. The center of the heartless swarm was destroyed, that much he could tell as his eyes adjusted once more to the gloom, vision clouded with sunspots.

“Leo!” The possible cousin called, voice heavy with relief. A happy bark was her reply, and the dark shape resolved itself into a second warbeast, head and paws skeletal, like GiGi’s. He left them to have their reunion, letting his claymore vanish, and looked around for the other warbeast. Isa leapt forward, catching the thick ruff of her neck-fur and burrowing into it as if he was a puppy again, refusing to feel ashamed by the hot wave of tears escaping him.

“GiGi, I'm so sorry,” he choked, and GiGi let out a soft, conciliatory huff, a careful, skeletal paw curling over his back to keep him steady and close. “What happened to you, GiGi? Can you not transform back?” Isa asked, once he got hold of himself again, wiping his eyes with his hands, despite his leather gloves. GiGi gently set him back on his feet, crouching down so they were slightly more level. Lea reached out, stroking her bleached-bone snout.

“What did happen to you, GiGi?” He echoed Lea. “Not that you don't look badass, mind,” he said cheekily, and shrieked when GiGi licked his face, her tongue not so much a tongue as a flickering shadowy extension. At least there wasn't any saliva. Isa suddenly recalled the reason he and Lea had started wearing honestly too much hair gel. It kept the grooming sessions to a minimum, which had been a boon to easily embarrassed teenagers. Hair gel tasted vile, after all. GiGi gave a low, mournful whuffle. Isa whined back softly, as best he could with human vocal cords. She couldn't really communicate like this, then, not enough to give the proper, probably complicated explanation.

“They're stuck like this.” Isa turned, looking at the stranger. She looked the worse for wear, her hair long and unkempt, pulled away from her face in a high tail, tied with a dirty length of cloth that might once have been white. She looked more than tired, the kind of fatigue that built up over too much time and too much stress, unhealthily skinny and strained. Her clothes were tattered and grimy, a tight-fitted sleeveless turtleneck and thick bike shorts, stockings that were more ladder than cloth at this point still clinging to the hard muscle of her legs. Bits of blue and white fabric that once might have been part of her outfit were repurposed as bandages over parts of her body, and worn pink leather belts formed a cross over her chest, held by a tarnished, decorative buckle. Ragged fingerless gloves covered her hands, and she still held her keyblade in hand. It was a strange blade, seeming too big and long for her small frame, and almost excessively simple. Three tines formed an E-shape at the end, and the guard was square and blocky. 

“Stuck how? And how do you know?” Lea asked, and Isa refocused on the conversation. Where had Vanitas gone? 

“They can walk through dreams, they told me there. She's Odette, and this is her brother, Lionel.” The woman said, before her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Aqua.” She introduced slightly belatedly. Not a cousin, then. 

“We came here looking for you,” Isa said softly. Aqua turned to him with wide, surprised eyes. 

“But- you act like you know them-” she cut herself off with a shake if her head, looking tired. “Did Mickey send you?” She asked, a soft smile touching her lips. Isa shook his head.

“No, and finding my family with you was a pleasant surprise,” he said, watching the two warbeasts have a soft, chuffing conversation. The male, Lionel, seemed surprised. Well, Isa was too. “GiGi, you never said you had a brother,” he said almost involuntarily, voice soft and worried. The male gave a soft, wounded sound, looking at his great grandmother with a look of near betrayal. GiGi heaved a sigh, and carefully held up two claws. “You have  _ two _ brothers?” Isa spluttered. Lea looked downright offended. 

“Why didn't you ever tell us about them?” Lea demanded, and GiGi gave him a soft warning bark. He backed down, pouting up at her. “And here I thought I was your favorite not-actually great grandchild.” He sighed theatrically, leaning into Isa’s side with a huff. Isa automatically put an arm around him. The male- his great grand-uncle, he supposed, made a distressed choking noise.

“I'm sorry to interrupt, but if King Mickey didn't send you, who did?” Aqua interjected, looking curious and faintly apologetic.

“We sent ourselves,” Lea said, and Isa rolled his eyes.

“We had a guide. You're needed in the realm of light once more, Aqua Spes.” He said softly, casting about for Vanitas. The armored man stepped up beside them almost hesitantly. At some point he'd blacked out the visor of his helm again. Aqua gasped. 

“I thought- you were just another figment of my imagination. Another shade conjured up by my weak heart.” She said, eyes alight with guarded hope. 

“I'm not. It's me, Aqua. It's time to go back.” Vanitas kept his voice warm and kind, his own naturally harder tones masked by Ventus’s softness. Aqua stepped forward, but hesitated. 

“Won't you take off your helmet?” She asked, soft and pleading.

“It's not safe, Aqua. Not in the darkness- wait, where's your armor?” He asked, rough and startled. Lea and Isa looked at her again, equally surprised, and Lea swore softly, unslinging his pack and digging out a spare coat, wrapping it over her shoulders. 

“That’ll keep you safe from the darkness. Though, honestly, if ten years hasn't affected you that badly, you're probably okay.” He told her. Aqua obediently pulled the coat on properly, eyes wide. It was too long in the body and sleeves, but fit just about right through the shoulders. She was a surprisingly small woman. 

“T-ten years?” She whispered, voice rough and hoarse. Isa winced in sympathy- had it felt longer or shorter to her?

“Yes. But we'll get you out.” Vanitas told her.

“Please, Ven, won't you clear your visor at least? I- I can't… I've been seeing things. Hallucinations, or visions. I'm not sure this is actually real.” Aqua pleaded, and Vanitas hesitated. 

“Look, Aqua- I'm not the same as you remember. I'm older, for one, and for the other… you never really knew the whole me. You knew a fraction of me, divided and in pain. I don't want to hurt you.” Vanitas muttered, and there was a ringing kind of sincerity in his words that surprised Isa. He'd thought this part of Ventus hated Aqua, as much as any part of him could. Perhaps Vanitas wasn't as tough as he pretended to be.

“I don't care. I want to see you.” Aqua’s voice was quiet, but firm. Unyielding. Vanitas sighed, reaching up to fiddle with his helmet, and Isa tensed subtly, ready to restrain Aqua if she showed signs of violence. GiGi gave him a confused, considering glance, and Lea just looked anxious. Vanitas’s helm cleared, and Aqua tensed, grip on her keyblade white-knuckled. She made a quiet choked noise of denial or disbelief. 

“I knew this wasn't gonna end well.” Vanitas lamented.

“Hey, at least she hasn't flung any spells at your sorry ass.” Lea quipped, seemingly on reflex. Vanitas rolled his eyes.

“You can't be Ven! I _refuse_ to believe it.” Aqua ground out, raising her keyblade. Isa leapt forward, crashing his claymore into her blade, forcing her arm to drop. 

“Give us a minute to explain!” Isa growled at her, low and animalistic. Maybe Vanitas _was_ right- the darkness  _ was _ getting to him. She stared at him defiantly. 

“Talk fast.” She said through gritted teeth.

“Vanitas isn't the one usually in the- uh, driver's seat.” Lea said immediately. “He's- what did he call it-”

“An autoimmune response to the darkness.” Isa supplied. “He is an omnipresent fragment of Ventus’s personality that is dragged to the fore here, in the Realm of Darkness. Because of the way his heart was broken in half, while the two parts can rejoin, they can never fully meld back together.” He continued, pulling back his blade when she displayed reluctant curiosity. 

“I might be able to, I just don't know. It'd need to be a lot longer than ten years not even in my own body, though.” Vanitas supplied. Aqua growled softly. 

“It's not your body.” She hissed. Isa placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, calming and restraining. 

“It is his body, Aqua, because he is Ventus.” He corrected softly. She bit her lip, scrubbing the back of one hand over her eyes.

“I want proof,” Aqua said, lifting her chin stubbornly. Isa glanced to Vanitas.

“Ugh, give me a minute, this is gonna be hard,” he hissed. Lea smirked, on the verge of making another off-color joke, when GiGi licked his face decisively, making him squawk in protest instead. Isa smirked.

It did take a long, harrowing couple of minutes before it finally worked. Black tufty hair bleached out into blond curls, and when he opened his eyes again they were tired blue. He lifted his hand in a weak wave.

“Hey, Aqua…” He muttered slightly listlessly, and Lea slipped a supportive arm around his waist. Aqua’s keyblade shattered into light as she clapped her hands over her mouth, eyes full of tears.

“Ventus!” She cried out, and Isa very quickly stepped to the side. It had looked like she might just go through him otherwise. Since Lea didn't want to step away from the very wobbly Ventus, she ended up embracing them both tightly, corded muscle in her arms standing out sharply. There was not an ounce of fat padding her muscle and bone protectively, and Isa wondered, dark and sharp and unhappy, how long Aqua had been slowly starving. Ventus laughed, and it sounded almost like a sob. 

“Oh Aqua. I've missed you so much,” he sobbed. Aqua was crying, incoherent and softly wretched. “I can't hold this for long, Aqua, the darkness hurts me. Please don't hurt me when I'm Vanitas. I probably won't behave myself, but I don't mean any harm anymore, I swear.” He gasped out, surprisingly coherent for how he was crying too now. “I love you, big sis, and I'm so sorry.” He managed to spit out before his hair rippled black again, and heartless-gold eyes peered out from wet, dark eyelashes. His sobs quieted quickly, and Aqua pulled away, reluctant at first, but then with some deep-seated revulsion or fear when she caught sight of Vanitas’s face. That was definitely something she was going to have to work on once they were out of here. She couldn't hate one aspect of Ventus, it wasn't healthy. Isa cleared his throat delicately, attracting her attention while Lea and Vanitas unwound from each other, exchanging quiet barbs.

“When you said my family was stuck like this… do you know how? And how it might be, ah, undone?” Isa asked slightly awkwardly.  Aqua’s expression darkened with sorrow. 

“Lionel… told me he had two hearts. The heart of a beast and the heart of a man, or something like that, it didn't sound like he was entirely sure what was going on. He told me… that when a person falls to darkness, their being can be split into two halves, the animalistic heartless, and the logical nobody.” Aqua looked a little sick. “At first, I didn't even know what the dwellers of the darkness were, he had to explain them to me.” She muttered, expression a strange mix of angry, ashamed, and nauseated. Lionel gave a soft, comforting whurfle, and gently nudged her back with his bony snout. She sighed, leaning back against him.

“Odette speculates that this form is what they call the human heart, left within the body of the beast, like a nobody. I think. It's all very confusing. The beast heart should have formed a heartless. She thinks.” Aqua grimaced, clearly annoyed and frustrated by her inability to really convey what was going on. Isa nodded consideringly.

“So they're what I would have transformed into, had Xemnas not put the geas on me.” He surmised. GiGi made an upset noise, crowding him and sniffing him thoroughly. She bathed the x-shaped scar between his eyebrows thoroughly, and Isa held obligingly still for it, though her shadow tongue felt very strange on his skin.

“If they're nobodies, can you find their other halves?” Lea asked Vanitas, who blinked, surprised, and then eyed them, contemplative.

“I mean, there's no reason I wouldn't be able to do the same thing I did before.” He said slowly. “I mean, I'd have to, uh, probably ride them to keep my keyblade in contact with them. But if they're okay with that, I don't see why I couldn't.” Isa looked inquiringly at GiGi, and she whurfed softly, questioning. 

“How can he put them back together?” Aqua echoed his great grandmother’s unspoken question. 

“His heart was broken in half and then repaired- well, for a given value of repaired-” Lea started, and Vanitas rolled his eyes, elbowing him in the side. 

“It has to do with how Xehanort fucked me over.” He interrupted. “I can find disparate halves and put them back together. By stabbing them.” He smirked at Aqua’s brief horrified expression. “I didn't know it was supposed to be impossible until Yen Sid told me, right before he gave me my mastery. You're not the only keyblade master any more, lady.” He looked wholly self-satisfied. Isa sighed loudly and pointedly, and Lea rolled his eyes.

“So get with the mojo, assface.” Lea jibed at Vanitas. “I want GiGi back, even if the first thing she's gonna do is give us a tongue-lashing.” 

“Kinky.” Vanitas deadpanned, raising an eyebrow. Lea mock-gagged, and Isa made an involuntary disgusted face.

“That's my great grandmother you're talking about, Vanitas, have some respect.” He growled in warning. He glanced over at the two warbeasts- GiGi had draped a paw over her face in despair, and Lionel was definitely laughing at her. Vanitas muttered an apology, keyblade appearing in his hand in a swirl of dark light- or maybe it was pale darkness? 

“I do have to keep contact with you when I do this,” he warns the two warbeasts. “So, which one of you lucky chucklefucks wants to go first?” GiGi and Lionel exchanged a long look, before GiGi stepped forward. Vanitas pressed the flat of the blade lightly against her shoulder. The familiar beam of light didn't spear forward, but instead a ball of light formed at the tip, spiking out randomly.

“What does that mean?” Lea asked, eyebrow raised, leaning over Vanitas’s shoulder.

“It means you're an annoying asshole.” Vanitas snapped. “I'm pretty sure it means her heartless is in the Realm of Light still. I could be wrong, though, I need to check with him,” he relented, nodding towards Lionel. Lionel stepped forward obligingly, and Vanitas repeated the process. This time the light shot off in a specific direction like it was supposed to. “Okay, once we get to it I need you to not kill it, okay? I don't know what killing it will do to you. I need you to restrain it in a way that I can stab you through it, though. You got that?” Vanitas’s tone conveyed doubt that Lionel did, but the warbeast nodded. “Okay, let me up. I think this'll work if I'm riding you.” Lionel crouched, and with a little arranging, each warbeast carried two of them, Vanitas and Isa astride Lionel, and Lea and Aqua on GiGi.

They set out, the light guiding their way.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while! And, we're finally getting out of the Realm of Darkness!! Yay!!!

Aqua leaned against Odette, a little awkward, and not as comfortable as she was with Lionel. He had been her companion a lot longer than she had, after all. The redheaded man, Lea, was a hot, unfamiliar bulk behind her, and it made her a little uncomfortable. She sighed, rubbing at her head. Her mana was pretty much nonexistent again, and she was concerned for the upcoming fight. They'd said they had to fight Lionel’s other half, right? 

“So how does this really work?” she asked, looking over her shoulder at the hooded redhead. Bright green eyes blinked at her. 

“Well… how it worked with me and Isa was that we located our heartless, contained them away from any other heartless, and then Ven- well. He was being literal when he said he needed to stab us to make this work. Stabbing with the keyblade sort of, um, reintegrated us. It made the heartless- and therefore our hearts, re-enter us. I realize that sounds really weird, but it is the truth.” Lea sounded sincere, and Aqua closed her eyes tightly, until stars burst behind her lids. 

She wanted to trust them, but  _ ten years _ , sweet gods. It had done a number on her, and she knew it deeply and intimately. 

“I'm at the bottom of my mana reserves, can someone heal among you?” Aqua asked instead. Lea swore softly. 

“Of course, I didn't think about that. Give me a second,” he muttered, twisting behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, shifting the hood out of the way, and watched him rummage in a large front pocket of his backpack. He came away with something golden and softly glowing, as big as his palm, and passed it over. Aqua stared at it with wide, hungry eyes. How long had it been since she'd seen an elixir? “Here, drink it,” he urged, worry in his eyes. She took it with a trembling hand, feeling the hard plastic of the bubble, and the slight weight of the restorative in her palm. She held on with her legs as she raised her other hand to press the crystallized ether down into the potion, allowing the chemical reaction that turned it into an elixir. Aqua steadied the plastic bulb with both hands, and drank deeply, tasting the familiar weird, sour-sweet-electric-tingle. When she was done she gasped, feeling her mana stores surge, finally replete once more.

“You look better already,” Lea said warmly, before passing a little plastic baggie over her shoulder. It was full of inch-square blue cubes. Ethers. Less powerful in gummy form than in crystallized form, but easier to consume. You had to melt crystallized ethers, usually in a potion, they were just too hard for human teeth.

“Thank you,” Aqua said, marveling when her voice didn't scrape in her throat, always a bit dehydrated. He silently passed over two bottles of water and three protein bars, and she tried not to eat and drink too quickly. It was hard, but doable. 

“We'll get you out of here, I promise,” Lea murmured, and Aqua felt hope blossom in her chest, a terrifying, amazing feeling. She tried not to feed too much into it. Too much hope was a dangerous thing in the Realm of Darkness-  _ wait _ . When had she started believing that so deeply? Wasn't hope good? What had happened to her?

Before she could really sort out those those feelings, they came across their quarry. A Dark Hide, limned in pale, unnatural light. Aqua tensed, keyblade springing to hand. She took a deep breath and studied the beast. The creature lumbered forward the spectral chains rattled against the ground.  It seemed to be slow, weighed down by those chains as it was. At least until it lunged, sprinting across the gap between them with a roar.

Aqua dodged out of the way as the Dark Hide clawed for her. She threw up a quick barrier to deflect the thick talons before blasting it with a Blizzaga spell. She jumped up onto the trail of ice and used it to get around the monster. In a fluid flip she took to the air and fired off another pair of Blizzaga spells. Her boots contacted the ice and she slid down to the ground once more.

The Dark Hide struggled against the thick ice encrusting it. After a few moments the head began to thrash as the monster roared. Nearby, Isa readied his claymore until Vanitas charged past him. 

“Hey, remember, we don't want to kill it, you dumbasses! Fuzzball, get into position!” Vanitas shouted, as the ice began to creak and crack. Even as Lionel barreled towards the Dark Hide, it freed a leg and swatted him aside. The motion held Vanitas and Isa at bay, preventing either from getting close. Vanitas hissed a curse.

The warbeast rolled and landed beside Aqua. The two looked to one another and nodded. They’d gotten through worse in the Realm of Darkness together. She hopped onto his back, one hand buried in his ruff. Master’s Defender leveled at the Dark Hide as she summoned a last, powerful swell of magic. A Blizzaja limit break flew for the Dark Hide and caught it once more in ice as Lionel vaulted to the exposed head. Aqua slid down off of his back to the ice as he caught the heartless’s ruff in his jaws with a crunch.

Vanitas flew forward, breezing past Aqua, and she nearly stopped him, nearly brought her keyblade to bear against his. But she stopped herself in time, and Vanitas flung his keyblade in a raid attack, slicing through the Dark Hide and piercing Lionel’s chest. Aqua’s heart skipped a beat. Then, with a great howling of displaced air, the Dark Hide swirled into Lionel, and both of them vanished, leaving behind a hollow shell of magical ice. She let her control fall from it and it shattered, even as she ran forward, searching. 

There! A small, black-haired man wearing torn and tattered clothes, his face and body scarred in familiar ways, lay unmoving in the puddle of evaporating ice. Vanitas crouched beside him, a glove receding as he checked Lionel’s pulse and opened one of his eyes, presumably to check pupil reaction. Apparently some of Master Eraqus’s first aid skills were still there. Aqua crashed to her knees beside him, uncaring of the new scrapes that split her skin. 

“Lionel! You said this was safe!” she snarled, accusing. A warm hand gripped her shoulder, and she jerked, looking up at Lea.

“He is. This is part of the process, calm down. Isa and I were unconscious for a while as well.” Lea said calmly, and Aqua winced against a pang of shame.

“That being said, we shouldn't stay,” Isa said, even as he- took off his coat? What on earth was he doing? “I'll transform so we can leave.” He said, and Aqua whipped her face away, as the blue-haired man took off the rest of his clothes too. Lea took his pack and folded the clothes into it, but kept the jacket out. 

“Help me get this on him, you two,” he said, and Aqua took charge, helping them wrestle the unconscious Lionel into the coat. Once that was done, Aqua chanced a glance back. Isa was safely transformed, and even bigger than Odette was, his pelt a rich dark blue, and where she was used to seeing skeletal parts, the skull and feet, he was fully furred and fleshed out. He was crouched beside Odette, who had a skeleton paw braced on his shoulders as she washed his ears with her flickering shadow tongue. 

“Aqua, can you carry Isa’s pack?” Lea asked her, looking a touch apologetic, but she nodded sharply, shouldering the heavy bag. “All right. Vanitas?” He asked, looking back at the shade. Vanitas arches a questioning eyebrow. Lea frowned. “You said you thought you'd be able to find your way back to Castle Oblivion, didn't you?” He asked, expression shading towards alarm. “I thought you had a connection to it! We found your body there, after all!” Aqua brightened. So Castle Oblivion was what they were calling the locked Land of Departure? 

“I can reach it, if Ventus helps me.” She said, taking the wayfinder from her pocket.

“You've got me, tough luck.” Vanitas challenged, retracting his helmet and dipping his fingers down the front of his collar to pull free Ventus’s wayfinder. It was gleaming with a pale green light, and her own wayfinder flickered, beginning to glow soft blue as it tugged against her fingers toward its green pair. Her eyes flicked to the side, an automatic response searching for the warm orange of Terra’s, before she caught herself, swearing in her mind. 

“Okay, now what?” Lea asked, heaving up Lionel with only mild difficulty. He quickly slid him over Isa’s back when he trotted obligingly forward. Aqua grimaced faintly. 

“We have to focus. Castle Oblivion is more than it seems, and Ventus and I have a deep connection to it.” She said, closing her eyes and folding her hands, the wayfinder’s cord dangling free. Vanitas folded his hands and closed his eyes too, though he left Ventus’s wayfinder about his throat. 

“What do you mean, a deep connection,” he groused softly. Aqua smiled faintly. 

“I wouldn't have left Ventus’s body just anywhere, let alone unprotected. You know what it is, if you really are Ventus.” She murmured. Vanitas made a soft scoffing sound. Aqua ignored him, losing herself in memories of home.

A long moment passed, before she felt her wayfinder lift and tug. Her eyes flew open as she grinned in triumph, the expression pulling at her face oddly. She wasn't used to smiling anymore. Vanitas made a soft sound of surprise beside her, and she glanced over, even as she looped her wayfinder securely around her wrist. His wayfinder was also straining forward.

“Odette, we'll need a ride,” she said, even as her distaste for Vanitas being that near to her made her skin crawl. Odette bounded forward and they mounted up, Vanitas in front of Aqua, as Lea mounted Isa, steadying Lionel, who remained unconscious. 

This time they stopped for no heartless, all three of them slinging spells off to the sides when heartless reared up, trying to give chase. At some point Lionel woke, and contributed his own magic. All the time they were pulled steadily forward by matched green and blue lights. Sometimes, out of the corner of her eye, she swore she saw Terra’s wayfinder flowing warmly, guiding them as well. 

Time had no meaning in the Realm of Darkness, but they were all exhausted by the time that they arrived on a winding, hard-packed dirt road. The castle loomed before them, strange and misshapen. Lea let put a soft, ragged cheer at the sight of it, and they all slid from the warbeasts’ backs. Isa transformed back, Lea taking the pack back from Aqua as he got dressed once more. 

“To enter the Realm of Darkness, we opened a Corridor of Darkness, and then closed it while we were still inside,” Isa informed her. Aqua frowned, that sounded incredibly risky. Also, who among them could open Corridors of Darkness? 

“Well, that's not how we're returning,” she said, pushing the door open. Shifting shadows caught the corner of her eye before she entered, but she dismissed it impatiently. Everyone else trooped in after her, though it was a tight fit for Odette, as Aqua crossed the shockingly white corridor to the second door, pressing her hand against it briefly, letting it know where she needed to go. Then Aqua pushed the door open, revealing the Chamber of Waking and the central throne. 

Master’s Defender dropped into her hand, heavy but familiar after her time in the darkness. She raised her arm. But before she could do anything, shadows raced over the floor, rising up into a humanoid shape. Aqua’s grip tightened, but then the shadows boiled away, revealing…

Herself, but with white hair and orange-gold eyes. An unfamiliar smirk on her lips and her clothes whole and unmarred. Aqua stumbled back a step even as a strong hand caught her shoulder. Vanitas, she saw from her peripheral vision. 

Her doppelganger laughed, rich, throaty, and mocking, and raced forward, faster than any of them could react to. 

A choked scream ripped from her throat as the phantom plunged towards her,  _ into _ her, and vanished.

Aqua sagged back against Vanitas, and he supported her. Lea swore in a shaky voice, and a small, warm, familiar form pushed past everyone to wrap her in a hug. 

“It's okay, Aqua, she wasn't real. Just a phantom again. Now come on, let's get out of here.” Lionel’s voice was soft and raspy, but she nodded, pulling herself upright with his and Vanitas’s help. She breathed deeply, and unlocked Castle Oblivion, sending it from the twilight edges into the realm of light once more. 

The change was like a flower blooming, spreading out from the nexus of the keyhole. Something tight and anxious within Aqua eased, as she once more stood in the grand audience chamber before the three thrones. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she collapsed to her knees, laughing soft and brokenly.

“I'm home, Master Eraqus,” she gasped raggedly. Warm, gentle arms enfolded her, and a soft blond head rested on her shoulder. 

“ _ We're _ home, Master Eraqus.” Ventus reiterated, and all Aqua could do was cry.

**Author's Note:**

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